#and i think there may be flashback chapters in aftershocks

[aparticularbandit]

here - as an explanation - in aftershocks, rose comments on how she won lint over from elena - and i think it’s luisa who explicitly says that she seduced her.

if this is the case, then mexican stud is the story of that seduction.

[theashemarie]

Are there any deleted scenes for Aftershocks? I’m so interested in the behind the scenes for this fic. Loved the most recent chapter btw!

Thank you so much!!

Honestly, I don't think so? This was one of those rare cases where basically every scene we wrote made it in. All I can think of is two small scenes.

The first is a little exchange @katiemonz wrote before removing it (because she wanted her flashback scene to start with them on the ferry). She has since made it into a comic (at my behest) that you may or may not have seen by now.

"I'm down with not having to swim across the freakin' Hudson." "Oh baby, you couldn't pay me," Mikey groaned as he cracked his back and his neck. His face was still puffy and flushed from crying, and his movements were slow and stiff. Par for the course, really. They all got thrashed. "You sure, Mikey? I could probably throw you halfway," Raph joked. "Nah man," Mikey said, tucking his arms into his shell. "Skip me like a rock. I'll go farther."

The second is a test scene I wrote like two minutes after I finished watching the movie. It was more a proof of concept (and the only practice I had for writing Mikey's voice) than anything, but it has the beginnings of Mikey's main beats (one of which was just resolved in the latest chapter!) and I'm still pleased with parts of it:

Here’s the thing: as the baby brother, it falls to Mikey to mediate the three big personalities that call themselves his big brothers. Squabbles, crises of faith, voice of reason—that’s all Mikey. And, usually, they listen. Usually, things pan out. Usually, they settle, they pause, because they’re kind and good under all that bravado and pride, and they come to some sort of peace. At the end of the day, they’re family, and as a family they all know to listen to Mikey, because he’s earnest and wants the best for them. That day, when Raph and Leo have it out, reiterating an argument they’ve been having for a while now—second verse, same as the first—Mikey wishes that someone else would take on this role, just this once. It’s hard, being the sensitive one, especially when your ally this time is Donnie, who often inflames things because he can’t keep his big mouth shut, but sometimes they can’t see the forest for the trees, or the pizza for the pepperoni, or whatever. So, Mikey gets between them, easily blocks Leo from getting a hit in, watches Donnie throw himself across Raph’s shoulders, and realizes that, this time, it’s not going to end peacefully. This was one time too far, and Leo was being too much of a turd. They might need to fight this one out, which would suck because they would trash the place and— “Boys! Stop this arguing!” Dad smashes into the moment, drawing all movement to a stop. Mikey slides to the side, sure that this won’t be the end of it, especially as Leo and Raph glare at each other. It’s happening more and more often, this squabbling, because Leo is too reckless and Raph too protective, but Mikey is starting to think that letting them fight it out would be the best course of action. Sometimes, it sucks to be the one with emotional intelligence. So, as Dad pads away, and Leo and Raph turn their backs on each other, leaving Mikey and Donnie alone in the middle, they share a long, suffering look, preparing to hunker down for the long haul. Of course, that’s just the beginning of it.

[skymaiden32]

Toxicity

Tagging: @dragonoffantasyandreality @janetm74 @thundergeek59 (Please ask if you would like to be alerted when I update or write new stories)

Two chapters from separate stories in one day? From me? It's more likely than you think >:D

A look into the not-so-distant past.

Oh look a flashback :D

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9

It was just supposed to be a normal earthquake rescue. Get in. Help as many people as they could. Assist in the case of an aftershock. Get out. But they were anything but a normal family. And this quickly became anything but a normal International Rescue callout…

Thunderbird 1 had, as usual, touched down first. Mobile Control was set up and Scott had already made a plan with the local authorities by the time Thunderbird 2 arrived, fully equipped with the Mole and any other equipment the International Rescue crew might need. As expected for a large rescue operation such as this, the transport carrier had a few crew. Not only were Gordon and Alan there, but Brains had also wanted to tag along.

Everything was going as planned. They had gotten as many people out as they could. And it may not have helped seeing the dead along with those lucky few that survived, but at least their families knew for sure what had happened to them. They could have closure. Who knew if the Tracys would know what really happened when Alan was poisoned and Scott disappeared? If they would have closure?

Regardless, when the rescue was finally over and IR was packing up, Alan had been fine one minute and was screaming out in pain the next. That scream, in addition to Gordon’s own wails of terror as he caught his passed out brother in his arms, is what caused Scott and Virgil to drop what they had been doing and rush over to help, older brother instincts going miles a minute. Brains had been close behind them and gave Alan a quick checkup. Brains found nothing immediately wrong but knew something was, so had recommended Alan be moved to the sickbay. While Virgil took on that task as the team medic, Gordon and Brains were sent to finish reloading Thunderbird 2, while Scott focussed on Mobile Control. 

When everyone had finished, Scott had offered to stay behind while Thunderbird 2 left for base. The Island wasn’t too far away, and it pained Scott not to be on board that ship with his family, but someone had to explain what was going on to the authorities and fly Thunderbird 1 back. And Scott was the Field Commander. This was his job.

Maybe it was just because he was standing mostly alone in an earthquake zone, or because his little brother had just collapsed for some unknown reason, but Scott felt like something was about to happen. His suspicions were confirmed when he approached the Chief of Police that had been helping so far, and the official had chuckled darkly when he explained what had just happened, pulling off the disguise he had taken on while he did so. 

“The Hood!” Scott recoiled in horror, backing up before he felt a gun pressed into his back. The other officers of the local police force were helping the criminal. Whether by choice or by force, he may never truly know. Glancing around and seeing no way out of this situation, Scott sighed, clenching his fists at his sides. “So, I take it you’re responsible for all of this? What do you want?”

The evil mastermind laughed malevolently. “I’m just going to get to the point. I want to make you an offer…”

Scott huffed. “What offer? Thunderbird 1 is only a few feet away. What’s stopping you?”

The Hood growled. “I’d watch what I’d say if I were you.” He smiled smugly. “After all, I do have guns trained on you from all angles.” He sighed. “I’ll admit, your ship is very tempting right now. But my purpose here today doesn’t allow for an impulse decision to steal a Thunderbird.” Scott raised an eyebrow. “I have the only antidote for the poison I’ve given your brother. Your scientist will fail to find it before it’s too late…”

Scott cleared his throat. Outwardly, he was very calm, a side effect of being in the armed forces as long as he had, but inwardly, he was a mess. “Let me guess, you want me to give myself up in return for my brother’s life? Well, hate to break it to you, but that’s not happening. I have faith that Brains will find that antidote in time.” 

The criminal hummed, before throwing a card at Scott’s feet. The younger man knew better than to pick it up right away. “We’ll see about that…” The Hood turned around, making a gesture to his men to put down their weapons and leave. The smug grin remained plastered on his face. “I’ll be waiting for your answer…”

And almost as soon as he had appeared, he was gone. Scott waited for a few moments before picking up the card, grateful beyond belief that no one else had seen what had just happened, the area had been fully evacuated hours ago. The card was almost business-like. Scott held back a scoff in case the Hood was still watching, heading back to Thunderbird 1. 

The silver rocket plane was waiting patiently for her pilot, and only when Scott was safely inside her cockpit, away from prying eyes, did his walls crumble as he sagged to the floor on his knees. 

Scott Tracy rarely broke, but now was certainly the time to do so. His little brother's days were numbered if he didn’t give himself up and Brains failed to find that antidote. But between knowing he could do something about it, and the possibility of his brother dying on his watch…

The Hood really hadn’t given him that much of a choice, had he?

A few minutes passed of Scott feeling sorry for his situation before he shook his head, pushing himself off the floor and into his pilot’s chair, and beginning pre-flight checks. Calling base to let them know he was on his way home. No doubt Virgil and the others were already back; Scott had a feeling his immediate younger brother would have pushed his lady to her limits to get Alan to the safety of the Island’s sickbay. 

To say he didn’t cry again multiple times on the way home would be a lie. He hadn’t even looked at the instructions on the Hood’s card yet, but that was for another time. Before anything else happened, he had a family to get back to.

But back home, Alan continued to get worse and worse by the day, with Brains at a complete loss as to how to construct the antidote. They were all out of time. 

So Scott had swallowed his pride and secretly prepared to leave the Island and his family behind. He’d left clues about why he had left behind; a book with a similar, but not exact, storyline to what was happening that had been a childhood favourite, and a handwritten note with a simple message on it. Who’s childhood favourite the book was, however, he wasn’t sure of, although a niggle at the back of his mind told him it was Gordon’s. He just knew what message it would send out. 

He only brought two things with him. The instructions he had been given by the Hood, and a locket pendant containing a photo of the family when their mother was still with them. Her calm smile beamed up at him, making him believe that once he did this, everything would be okay, even if he knew that wasn’t true. 

Shortly before he took off for good, he discreetly said his goodbyes, leaving a kiss on Alan’s forehead before departing. Once out on the runway, looking up to the sky, he sent his love John’s way as well, before focussing on the task at hand. 

As Tracy Island shrunk behind him, Scott couldn’t allow himself to feel any regrets. By leaving, and bargaining with their greatest enemy for Alan’s life, he was betraying International Rescue. But his loyalty to his family was burning brighter than ever.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 19 November 2018

Quick Bits:

Aquaman #42 is a tie-in to the “Drowned Earth” event, following on his skewering at the hands of Poseidon in Justice League #11. Navigating his way through a dead realm is kind of a weird way for Dan Abnett to close out his run on the series, but it’s still a satisfying issue. Great art from Lan Medina, Vicente Cifuentes, and Gabe Eltaeb.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman #59 continues the “Tyrant Wing” arc with Batman acting a little unhinged on Penguin’s tip that Bane is running Arkham from the shadows, continuing his criminal empire to kill throughout Gotham. It’s interesting to see Batman alienate his allies again in his pursuit for vengeance.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #1 begins a new volume setting up an alien adventure in Britain, building upon the previous series but not requiring it as reading, from David Avallone, Julius Ohta, Ellie Wright, and Taylor Esposito. Bettie Page, paranormal investigator, is still a weird but entertaining remit and this opening issue does a good job of continuing in that vein as Bettie travels to England to investigate the Queen having been abducted by aliens. Ohta’s art also just keeps getting better and better.

| Published by Dynamite

Black Badge #4 employs a unique approach to flashbacks, with a solid spot colour in otherwise black and white image from Tyler and Hilary Jenkins. It’s a neat technique that really makes the scenes stand out.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Bloodborne #7 continues to question the realities and relationship of religion and science, even as the city’s fate becomes bleaker and the disease threatens more and more citizens. While I think I preferred the existential terror of the first arc more, this is still highly enjoyable.

| Published by Titan

Cold Spots #4 delivers a little bit of explanation as to what Grace has been brought to the island to do. I say a little bit, since there’s still a lot left unanswered in this penultimate issue. Gorgeous artwork from Mark Torres. You can almost feel the coldness coming off the pages.

| Published by Image

Cover #3 is some amazing storytelling. Somehow Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Zu Orzu, and Carlos M. Mangual are layering more and more into the narrative with each subsequent issue in such a brilliant way that you barely notice how many disparate pieces are being presented. It’s like an intricate tapestry being woven before us. This issue even has a special sequence illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz of a fantasy story I desperately want to read the rest of.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Crimson Lotus #1 begins a new series from John Arcudi, Mindy Lee, Michelle Madsen, and Clem Robins giving an origin story to Yumiko Daimio, one of Lobster Johnson’s enemies and grandmother to the BPRD’s favourite jaguar. It’s good, and an appearance early on from Rasputin just further shows some of the intricacies of the Hellboy universe.

| Published by Dark Horse

Devil Within #2 keeps the creepy factor up as Samantha and Michelle try to get help for Michelle’s possible possession. Excellent moody atmosphere provided by the art from Maan House and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Black Mask

Doctor Strange #8 begins “The Price” but it’s really just a continuation of the “Two Doctors” arc, building off the corruption of Strange’s former student. Mark Waid gives us some very interesting developments here regarding who is targeting him, along with Kamma finding out something Stephen wishes she wouldn’t, and the revelation of the location of one of the other gems from Cyttorak that were revealed to exist in X-Men Black.

| Published by Marvel

Evolution #12 ends the second arc with some lies, half-truths, and compelling confessions. The theme of change and mutation that has been evident since the first issue really comes to the fore this issue as some huge changes occur for the cast.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Exorsisters #2 gives more background to how the sisters came about through a deal with infernal powers by their mother. The art from Gisèle Lagacé and Pete Pantazis really is a huge draw.

| Published by Image

High Heaven #3 spends some time with Heather as she deals, kind of, with the loss of both David and Ben. Very weird things continue to go on in heaven with the usual great art from Greg Scott and Andy Troy. The Hashtag: Danger back-up remains funny with the lengths that the team goes to in order to save one of their own, only to have her kill herself again. And the prose pieces nicely round out the entire package.

| Published by Ahoy

Hot Lunch Special #4 delivers the penultimate chapter to not just one of the best crime stories I’ve read in years, but also just one of the best stories I’ve read in years period. Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornés, and Taylor Esposito have really got something special here, with intriguing characters, an ever twisting plot, and some incredible visual. The layouts for this issue, breaking down the pacing, are just wonderful.

| Published by AfterShock

Immortal Hulk #9 is another staggeringly good issue, with a change for the Absorbing Man as he’s tapped to go up against the Hulk. While I am a little sad he didn’t stay legitimate following his redemption arc in Black Bolt, his development here from Al Ewing is pretty intriguing. Also love the art as the regular team of Joe Bennett, Ruy José, and Paul Mounts trade off pages with guest artist Martin Simmonds. The former illustrating the Hulk and the latter Creel before alternating in the battle between the two.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity 8 #7 begins the third loop “The Gospel According to Emma” from Lewis Trondheim, Fabien Vehlmann, and Olivier Balez. This reboot of the timeline starts off incredibly wrong as the Marshal approached to assist this time turns on the crew and effectively strands them in this timeline. There’s some interesting bits of grave robbers stealing treasure and overtones of the Marshal’s religion.

| Published by Lion Forge / Magnetic Collection

Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther #1 begins the final of these two-issue “Infinity Warps” mash-ups. Like the rest, it is incredibly well done. Jed MacKay, Jefte Palo, Jim Campbell, and Joe Sabino craft a tale merging Ghost Rider and Black Panther, seamlessly blending the two into something magical. The art from Palo and Campbell may well be the best of any of these minis and the art on all of them has been very impressive. Love the design for Zarathos.

| Published by Marvel

Judge Dredd: Toxic #2 has the violence and toxicity spillover as the explosion at one of the waste facilities causes increased fear and tension amongst the scrubbers hired to keep Mega-City One functioning. Paul Jenkins is crafting a tale full of the problems that come with xenophobia and the art from Marco Castiello, Vincenzo Acunzo, and Jason Millet just makes it visceral.

| Published by IDW

Justice League #12 has some really nice art from Frazer Irving for this penultimate chapter of the “Drowned Earth” event. Also, a very interesting revelation from Poseidon when it comes to the invading sea gods.

| Published by DC Comics

Justice League Dark #5 kicks off a new arc dealing with the ramifications of the first one, “The Witching Hour” crossover, and previous unrevealed tales of what happened with Detective Chimp after inheriting the Oblivion Bar. James Tynion IV gives some nice nods to the original Shadowpact series aided by beautiful art from Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, and Adriano Lucas.

| Published by DC Comics

The Last Space Race #2 introduces us to another member of the team, giving us a bit of his backstory, and largely making us want to drop him into a deep dark hole and forget that he’s there. Peter Calloway does a wonderful job of making Roger Freeman thoroughly unlikable, it’s kind of astonishing.

| Published by AfterShock

Lightstep #1 is a very different kind of sci-fi tale, mixing almost the feel of the decadence of Rome under Nero or Caligula and the high concept science fiction of a society that measures the class of its citizens by genetic similarity to their progenitor, and thereby assigns how “fast” they live. As I say, different from Miloš Slavković, Mirko Topalski, and Andrej Bunjac. Slavković’s art reminds me a bit Pasqual Ferry mixed with John Watkiss. The story itself somewhat reminds me of Watkiss’ work on John Jakes’ Mulkon Empire. On top of that, it’s part of a broader video game/media franchise from Eipix Entertainment, of which this looks like only the first volley (a novel and video game are forthcoming).

| Published by Dark Horse

The Lollipop Kids #2 continues to be a fantastic and fabulous comic from Adam & Aidan Glass, Diego Yapur, DC Alonso, and Sal Cipriano. The art alone from Yapur and Alonso would be worth the price of admission, but the characters, setting, and overall plot just elevate this beyond a typical kids fantasy type deal.

| Published by AfterShock

Low Road West #3 gets significantly stranger and much more surreal as reality seems to be growing thinner. We’re still not any closer to really understanding what’s truly going on, but it doesn’t really matter. Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Flaviano, Miquel Muerto, and Jim Campbell are telling one hell of a compelling story.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Mae #10 has Mae deal with some stuff in our world before stocking up and returning back to Cimrterén to resume her search for her father. Gorgeous artwork as always from Gene Ha and Wes Hartman.

| Published by Lion Forge / Roar

Marvel Knights #2 sees Matthew Rosenberg and Nico Henrichon join Donny Cates for this chapter, giving a bit of back story on how Banner roped in Castle into searching out the various heroes and leads to a confrontation with Elektra. Still no closer to understanding what happened here, but it does get weirder with a hallucinatory Karen Page. Henrichon’s art is just perfect for telling this story.

| Published by Marvel

Middlewest #1 is a magical debut of this new series from Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos. It’s a fantasy grounded in the reality of growing up hard in Middle America, with Abel dealing with an abusive father, while just trying to be a kid. But there’s a talking fox and devastating sentient storms. Rather inventive stuff all around. I’m also getting the impression that Jorge Corona should really be a household name. Between No. 1 with a Bullet, Old Man Jack, and now this, he’s been killing it recently.

| Published by Image

Night Moves #1 is a pretty great debut from VJ Boyd, Jordan Boyd, Clay McCormack, Mike Spicer, and Shawn DePasquale. It’s a gritty crime drama with occult overtones, but most of the weirdness is just simmering under the surface so far as the protagonists work to find out what kind of mess they’re in. McCormack and Spicer’s art really capture the feel of the seediness of the story well.

| Published by IDW

Optimus Prime #25 brings it all to a close, with a flashback through Optimus’ life and little vignettes of the various Transformers from John Barber, Kei Zama, Josh Burcham, and Tom B. Long. I’m really going to miss this world. 

| Published by IDW

Pearl #4 is probably the most stereotypical Bendis issue to date, but the dialogue doesn’t tip over into the ridiculous territory. Most of this issue is a conversation between Pearl and tattoo boy, but at least it’s interesting conversation and not random pop culture references repeated as questions.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Pestilence: A Story of Satan #5 gives a bittersweet end to this story, filled with loss and sacrifice. It’s kind of fitting considering how bleak both this and the first series have been. Wonderful art from Oleg Okunev, Guy Major, Michael Garland, and Marko Lesko.

| Published by AfterShock

The Punisher #4 may well be one of the bloodiest, most violent mainline 616 Marvel Universe Punisher issues yet as Jigsaw and an assortment of Hydra goons attempt to kidnap Frank from prison. Matthew Rosenberg and Szymon Kudranski are continuing to keep this book moving at a breakneck pace, like an action movie that barely takes any moments to breathe.

| Published by Marvel

Quantum & Woody! #12 brings this volume to a close, with an interesting character study of the brothers at the hands of GATE and X-O Manowar.

| Published by Valiant

Rumble #9 brings “Things Remote” to an end with an epic battle between the Esu and Rathraq’s friends, leading to an interesting realization for Rathraq and what he wants out of life. Stunningly beautiful art from David Rubín and Dave Stewart.

| Published by Image

Shadowman #9 continues the “Rag and Bone” arc as Alyssa and Jack confront Sandria Darque. Gorgeous artwork from Renato Guedes, Eric Battle, and Ulises Arreola. 

| Published by Valiant

Shuri #2 continues the search for Black Panther, while back on Earth the women of Wakanda form a council to figure out how to maintain and administer the nation while he’s missing. Definitely some interesting concepts and character points from Nnedi Okorafor. Phenomenal artwork and layouts from Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Force #2 is probably one of the bleakest, mean-spirited stories I’ve read in a while. This isn’t a bad thing, but the story’s a bit of a downer as the nature of an irradiated world without hope seems to permeate everything, including characters like Jessica Drew who are normally at least a bit more level-headed. Priest is writing a very dark story, with some complicated characters like Peter’s granddaughter who grew up in the Old Man Logan universe and a Peter Parker who looks like he was abused by Uncle Ben.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Geddon #4 kind of spoils the need to read Spider-Force #3 out in three weeks, which just kind of adds to the downer feel of that series. This issue turns darker itself with a bevy of betrayals. Christos Gage has kind of stacked the deck against the spiders, I wonder how they’re going to get out of it in the finale.

| Published by Marvel

Stellar #6 concludes the series and it is incredibly messed up. The conflict between Zenith and Stellar is bizarre and perverse, but I don’t really want to go into it more because spoilers would ruin its impact. Joe Keatinge, Bret Blevins, and Rus Wooton have done an amazing job with this series. Highly recommended.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Sukeban Turbo #1 is another series originally published by Glénat Editions in France, translated into English for North American markets. It’s a mix of teenage rebellion, crime, and following a boy band from Sylvain Runberg, Victor Santos, and Shawn Lee. The art from Santos is worth it on its own, very impressive layouts and storytelling.

| Published by IDW

Summit #10 kicks off the third arc for the series and like most of the Catalyst Prime series recently it undergoes a bit of a change in status quo. Val finds out that she hasn’t been hallucinating, but hearing the voice of another of her team that was essentially vaporized during the event, before having her life turned upside down as the government starts hunting her. Amy Chu continues writing the series, while she’s joined by Marika Cresta fully for the art here.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Tony Stark: Iron Man #6 begins “Stark Realities” and the launch of Tony’s eScape virtual reality game. Dan Slott, with a script assist from Jeremy Whitley, does a great job of making it feel chaotic at launch, with some ordinary and extraordinary problems occurring. The pissed off griefer is hilarious.

| Published by Marvel

Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1 is an interesting reinterpretation of Carnage’s origin to fit within the new mythology being crafted in the current Venom series, also building off the recent two-part arc there with the Maker, from Donny Cates, Danilo S. Beyruth, Cris Peter, and Clayton Cowles. This is more very entertaining outgrowth of the Marvel Universe from Cates and gives us a quite possibly deadlier Carnage.

| Published by Marvel

West Coast Avengers #4 concludes the first arc in fairly straightforward fashion as the team deals with BRODOK and the women transformed into giant monsters. Some nice little character moments from Kelly Thompson and great art from Stefano Caselli and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

The Whispering Dark #2 continues its existential and moral crisis as the squad commits war crimes as they struggle to survive. There’s something off about how everything is happening, in how Christofer Emgård is writing the narration, but I’m not sure if it’s just the in-story reason of the go-pills. It feels like the squad is already in Hell and being judged.  

| Published by Dark Horse

Other Highlights: American Carnage #1, Archie #700, Black AF: Widows & Orphans #4, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #7, Burnouts #3, Days of Hate #10, Dejah Thoris #10, Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive #2, East of West #40, Encounter #8, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Option #2, Go-Bots #1, Jughead: The Hunger #10, The Long Con #5, Love & Rockets #6, Lucifer #2, Lumberjanes #56, Mars Attacks #2, The New World #5, Olivia Twist #3, Project Superpowers #4, Rick & Morty Presents Pickle Rick #1, Smooth Criminals #1, Star Wars #57, Star Wars: Solo #2, TMNT: Urban Legends #7, Underwinter: Queen of Spirits, Xena: Warrior Princess #10

Recommended Collections: 24 Panels, Accell - Volume 3: Turf Battles, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows - Volume 4: Are You Okay, Annie?, Crude - Volume 1, Dark Souls Omnibus, Delta 13, Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate, Flavor, Immortal Hulk - Volume 1: Or is he Both?, Justice League - Volume 1: The Totality, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Volume 4: Coming Home, Resident Alien - Volume 5: An Alien in New York, Spidey: School’s Out, Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses - Volume 3, Unnatural - Volume 1: Awakening, Venom - Volume 1: Rex, The X-Files: Case Files - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy wonders if there’s going to be any light in our real darkest hour.

[megamanxfanfics]

Season V - Afterthoughts on the 2nd Arc

This is more about Ep. 11, 12 & 13, but I gave the 1st Arc the same amount of attention. I might as well do the same for the 2nd Arc.

-----------------------------Episode 7-----------------------------------------------

I’ve said pretty much everything I wanted to say about these first few episodes in the arc, so I’ll just leave a true afterthought:

I was really surprised how quickly we got back into the action again, and that X & Zero got all the way about to their boss fights before the episode came to a close.  Moreover, I was really happy that I was able to further develop things from Dynamo’s perspective, who was still recovering from his fight with Zero.

------------------------------Episode 8----------------------------------------------

These were rock solid fights against Spiral Pegasus & Dark Necrobat.  With the way things worked out, I like how Zero barely survived his fight, and actually needed to learn how to work with Alia in order to win.  [In hind-sight, X being able to teleport his weapon chip to Zero is sort of a cop-out, but.. that’s Mega Science, baby.  Alia’s a genius!!]

The rest of the episode was sort of a strange moving of the chess-pieces.  X getting his Gaea Armor part, Zero flying home and everything in between.

But I still love how it ended, with Dynamo surprise attacking the base, once again and this time it was X’s turn to defend their home.

-------------------------------Episode 9---------------------------------------------

This one was pretty climactic.  I really enjoyed X’s fight with Dynamo and exploring more of Dynamo’s sociopathic motivations.

After the fight, I feel like it suffered from some necessary moving of the chess-pieces, but in a way it gave me a chance to do something interesting with Lifesaver’s character.  He doesn’t really trust X or Zero, seeing as they aren’t affected by the Virus in one way or another.  And X’s lashing out against Zero was an unexpected addition, which added tension to their straining relationship. I both liked and disliked this, considering what I was setting up for later.

This one just sort of ended while X & Zero just started their next missions, but Zero got a really good Repliforce flashback out of the deal.  It explained why he was so adamant about finishing them off, I hope.  I wanted to make him seem like less of a loose cannon and more of a focussed warrior with a long-goal in mind.

------------------------------Episode 10----------------------------------------------

I was really happy once this one was over!  Zero’s stage was way more exciting than X’s, but with his new ability of flight, I had to let X spread his wings.  [I also, wanted to get to his fight with Rosered as soon as possible.]

Once the Rosered fight was over and X got to coalesce with Zero, things felt right again.

-------------------------------Episode 11-----------------------------------------------

This episode wrote itself, man!  I had so much fun working on it.

The very first thing I did was take the all the Canon Dialogue to see what I was working with.  I had everything laid out.  The shuttle take-off set-up, and then every possible outcome.  This is where things got very creative.  I had to use colors.

I colored all of the good sequence dialogue in green. Then I colored all the bad sequence dialogue in red. Then I went even further and looked at the failed, time ran-out sequence and saw very usable dialogue that I wanted to take from there.  I colored that in crimson.

As I wrote all of those conflicting sequences out, I added one transition moment in the stage directions which took us from the Good Scenario to the Bad Scenario.  This stage direction was colored in amber.  [That being a piece of debris knocking into Zero’s ship and throwing him off-course at the last minute.]

After playing with colors, I took a look at the Pre-mission set up, and saw what needed expanding in a 2nd session.

X, Zero & Signas reacting to Douglas’ bad news about Auto-pilot not working was very organic and easy to write. This continued into a hallway scene, where X practically begs Zero not to go, but I made sure for X not to volunteer himself either, because the canon dialogue already does that for us, once Zero is strapped in and ready for take-off.

The only other thing I had to set up was Zero going over to the Shuttle to settle in.  I really liked this, because it’s the last time I get to write Zero acting heroic, before everything changes.  More-over, I threw in some interesting continuity regarding all those Technicians he saved from Spiral Pegasus’ base.  One of the new recruits introduces himself as Tack and thanks him for everything he’s done.  {If you’re wondering where I pulled that name from, look no further than the X6 Rescued Reploid list.  Yes... I am setting things up for X6.  But I will not overload us with OCs, because that is not the point of that story.}

With that done, I looked everything over in my 3rd session and expanded upon the worst scenario stuff, in crimson.  Life imitated Art here in an awesome way.  I was writing this segment on my laptop late at night, before bed and my battery was almost dying.  I shit you not, literally after writing the news segment, the computer shut down.  Like, I hit period, Dropbox Autosaved, and then bam.  It was toast!  I could NOT get over that.  I wasn’t very worried about losing stuff, because Dropbox Word Online is pretty good like that.  I double-checked how the file looked on my phone, and sure as shit, everything I just wrote was there.

That was a great way to end Session 3.

In the next days I tackled a Session 4, where I think I opened up The Battle of Two Fates and compared notes.  It was definitely in this awesome place, where I could work on both at once.  One Chapter was showing things from X’s perspective and the other was showing things from Zero’s perspective.  I truly loved what was happening.  My original fan script was finally, truly connecting to the series.  I was finally catching up to my Long-Goal.

--------------------------------Episode 12----------------------------------------------

Then, came the Flashback Sequence from Hell.  [I might’ve used that term before, but this time it was real.]

The Battle of Two Fates, being my first fan script ever had a lot of exposition in it within the stage directions...

Since writing Season I, I always knew I’d come back to this and change that exposition into a cool flashback sequence.  I even started with a long Vile flashback once Season I was done, but I got rid of it almost immediately since it didn’t flow with the rest of the one-shot at all. 

By the time Season II was done, I had done so many different things with Zero that I probably thought it best to just tackle that Exposition/Flashback Sequence once everything was done.

This was a good move, but also very frustrating.

I didn’t know it yet, but this Flashback Sequence was easily going to become it’s own episode.

At first, I followed The Battle of Two Fates exposition to a T.  I gave us the two moments where X & Zero fight Vile from X1.

Then, I was supposed to go where Zero saved X from the Black Clone Zero in X2, but guess what?  Zero’s Maverickism in that Season was a cluster-fuck and rehashing all of that was it’s own chore of a task.

Already, the sequence was messed up.  After that was supposed to be quick shots of their teamwork in X3 & X4, but due to Mega Missions & Xtreme 2...  That Teamwork was now very layered, and complicated.  Not so cut and dry, ‘lets stop the bad guys buddy’, like I had originally depicted from the one-shot.

So...  I picked and chose the highlights of the entire series...  I had to! [How I thought this would cram into the tail end of Ep. 11 is beyond me.]

To go into further detail about how I edited, re-edited, and even further condensed and compromised all of those flashbacks is a fool’s errand.  But I will tell you that I had more fun with colors, opting for X’s narrations to be Blue and his Flashback dialogue to be normal black.  It was also smart to throw his entire narration into it’s own file and see if the monologue made sense, by itself.

[This is definitely mostly the case.]

Once I had all the moments and scenes that I wanted, Episode 11 was like, 42 pages!!!  Easily, split in half, but I didn’t want to do that. I tried cutting down the flashbacks as much as possible, and managed to make it 36 pages, maybe?  Still no good.

So as stated before, I decided that two 18-pages chapters were way more digestible than one, 36 page chapter.

And there we had it, episode 12 was a giant flashback, aftershock chapter where X and we the audience come to terms with the fact that Zero, as we know and love him.. is no more...

--------------------------------Episode 13----------------------------------------------

This one was less about writing, and more about editing than anything else.  It’s also the true beginning of the 3rd Arc, so technically it doesn’t belong in this entry.  But since they pair so well together, here we go.

The Battle of Two Fates was written as a Christmas Gift in 2010.

The editing to this chapter took place technically as early as Season I, 2011. I had already stated putting in both full Vile fights, but that didn’t flow at all so it was taken out.

But the next technical edit was when I created this blog in 2015.  I made a script formatted version, and it was really hard to keep all the dialogue and over-expositional stage directions in.  But I did.

Flash forward to now, 2019 when I was really working on this.  At the beginning of the 2nd Arc, I fiddled with the battle itself.  I noticed that X used a lot of X3 weapons and the Storm Tornado from X1.  All of that was edited to X5 & X4 weapons.  I definitely beefed up the dialogue to this before truly tackling S.V - Ep 7.  I added the Serges continuity from X2 into their hate-talk.  X was way less of a pansy... :p  [I still can’t believe I wrote that. I generally shocked myself from my past writing.]

So from the battle on, I was mostly covered.

I may have opened it, while working on Ep. 8 or 9, just because.  The only thing that was done there was inserting slashes to some of the opening moments of the chapter.  I didn’t want to delete anything yet, but I was sure that certain things weren’t gonna work, or needed big changes if they were going to be included.

This takes us back to the flashback sequence.  Once I was unknowingly working on Episode 12, I slashed out all of that exposition stage direction nonsense, and deleted it.

The familiar Episode 11 sequences were thrown into the beginning to show Zero’s perspective on everything. Adding a “Moments Ago” caption was the perfect solution to my giant flashback episode.  This unfortunately makes Chapter 12 very skippable for folks who just wanna get to the action, but I also don’t blame them.

So even before getting to Episode 13, all of this was kind of pre-done for me.

What really needed working on, mostly was cleaning up the stage directions at first.  The tiny goal from session 1 was to just get to X teleporting to the area.

Once X was teleported and we were in the now, I really had to fix almost all of their interactions.  This took a session or 3 in itself, but eventually everything that I liked, new and old was reworked, nicely.  There was this giant build for one of them to finally throw the first punch, and I really liked how I handled that within their dialogue.

We get a dropkick with a block.  Then a fist-clash, and finally the first charge shot.

The ensuing battle after that was mostly unchanged.  The only thing left to work on was Alia & Signas’ random dialogue before they duke it out.  It wasn’t fully necessary, but I wanted to give a small break in the action, and also keep with the continuity that Alia was going to give X his new armor.  [Only this time, it was going to be the Gaea Armor, rather than the Falcon Armor.]

Those battle changes were already worked on from before, so once I got to this section, is was more logistical clean up than anything else.

My last challenge was to get X home once he gets the Gaea Armor. Originally, he got the Falcon Armor and was majorly overpowered by it.  It’s what gave him the win against Zero (and ultimately kill him.)  [That could not keep for 2 reasons.  1, X already had it.  And 2...  The Falcon Armor is actually pretty.. weak.]  X5′s Armors were designed with checks and balances.  The Falcon Armor was light-weight and new with that special flight ability and sweet charge shot, but you could forget charging weapons.  X4′s Armor was standard, but you had the Plasma Shot and could charge weapons.  And of course, the Gaea Armor was a specialty, meant for spikes and strong defense against enemies.  And a sick Giga Attack.  But other than that, you could forget about speed, air-dashing or using ANY special weapons.  You can’t even equip parts to make him faster or anything.

[Because believe me, that was a plan I had in mind.]

So with that...  This chapter didn’t fall as flat as I thought it would.

X gets his Gaea Armor/2nd chance at life.  But Zero is long-gone.

Rather than have X pursue a 2nd battle, as he did in the original chapter, this was the perfect break in action to come home.  It wasn’t too hard to shift what he and Alia say, in order for her to convince him to come home.

Remember that he hasn’t recovered from any of the fights against Rosered, Dino-Rex and now a fully Awakened Zero who wasn’t holding back.

So this was believable for me to have X get like.. a jump to his system in receiving the Gaea Armor, but that being it.  Not a full power-up.  Not a 2nd lease on life.  Just... being alive at all, and needing to come home and sleep it off, finally.

The last line became Zero’s line.  “It’s time to finish the mission...”

Which means that there is more on Zero’s agenda than just X, after all.

Is there hope for their friendship yet?

You’ll just have to wait and see.

As for right now, the 2nd Arc is over, and the 3rd Arc has opened up to a climactic start. I’m looking forward to figuring out these next steps, but for now, I’ve enjoyed reflecting on all of this.

What about you guys?  What do you think?  Was there a favorite moment you had from the 2nd Arc, or even the 1st?  How about the start of the 3rd Arc??  Was it everything you were hoping for, or were you hoping things would go differently?  Please feel free to leave feedback, and leave comments below.

Until then, later guys.

[aparticularbandit]

State of Bandit Fic

it’s been a couple of months since i posted one of these and i’d like to have one done by the end of the year SO here we go. under a read more for length.  my apologies, mobile users.

plans for the rest of the year:

roisa secret santa goes up next monday.  i still don’t know what i’ll post on the monday after that.  i have another chapter ish of falling written, but idk if that’s a direction i really want to go with that novel.  maybe, maybe not.  idk.

word count maintained 2k during november with only a few hiccups.  this month the first couple of weeks i had multiple days where word count was less than 1k.  i’ve gotten it back up to 1k and think that the sudden jump from main focus on roisa hp au to main focus on rss was part of the issue there (when i go and make sure i get 1k in the hp au, i tend to hit 2k again, so there’s that).  i plan to try and maintain the 1k to the end of the year with the hope that i reach a total of 400k written this year (at the end of november, i was at approximately 381.5k - give or take a few - which means i only needed to write 18.5k this month.  i have at least 11.5k in various other non-roisa hp au projects from this month, not including any word count from second writes, and i know i’ve done at least another 1k (probably 2k or more) in the roisa hp au - so i should be hitting that if i keep up the 1k minimum).

that Christmas project i said i started last year and wanted to finish this year won’t be finished in time for Christmas most likely so my apologies.  :/  it just takes more mental thought for less word count and my focus right now is on rss.  sorry.

plans for next year:

i’m very tentative on these, but this is what i’ve been thinking about (and may or may not actually do):

focus on five days a week at 1-2k with saturdays and sundays off - still plan on keeping word count on one of those days but giving the other one for second write for the monday update because i’ve found that trying to do the second write and final edits and get 1k written is really hard for me to do, especially with longer updates.  so i’m not going to push myself for that.

this also potentially allows me an additional day to spend editing or drafting other projects - like the roisa hp au or mexican stud or stuff like that which i want to be finished and go through another edit and possible betaing before posting - and while that might not be immediately, i like that space being open and available.

focus on finishing the rough draft of the first book of the roisa hp au and hopefullly get it through a second draft and betaing and polishing so that maybe it starts getting posted in july or august.

i was thinking july but we’ll see.  i don’t want to lock myself into something like i did with ACAL this year, and while i like having it set up for the beginning of the school year, i’m not sure that’s enough time.  i haven’t done this kind of editing/drafting/betaing before on a project - with the exception of noir fic, which...hasn’t been posted and got stalled in the fourth draft.

i also think that this would be in place of the monday updates instead of a separate update as i originally planned.  because this first book is currently 16 chapters long, that would give me multiple months to focus on other projects while they’re updating - and that time off was something i really wanted in july and ended up getting mostly in october and november.  so we’ll see.

possibly hosting roisa fic week probably around july 4th and then possibly hosting rss next year, as well, but with a longer application time (probably all of october, but unsure).

possibly pick-up lines month for january into february in time for valentine’s day.  still not sure.

more focus on personal projects.

i want to write my original fic and i’ve been focusing on fanfic and that’s not a problem but i should do some writing on my original fic, too.

not sure what this means yet because i plan to maintain monday updates because that’s been a good schedule for the past however many months and i like having that schedule.

i did set up a blog for that fantasy thing i mentioned a while back, but it’s...more complicated and something i want to ease into before bringing it up real big.  so.  in the wings.

time off from social media in january.

not sure how i’ll be doing this either, but i just want to take some time off from facebook/tumblr/twitter/etc.  i don’t think full blackout because i plan to still be posting links to chapter updates and such here, but i’ve found...i get really worn-out and waste so much time and i just.  want to see what happens.  idk.

so that’s that.

and then general fic updates:

posted but incomplete fics:

if you lived here, you’d be home now

no change from last update

started a reread, maybe that’ll help

jane: the real story

no change from last update

might be dead fic; i’m not super interested in continuing this

blame soulmate timer au

heart in motion

no change from last update

luisa and the child

aka the sequel to luisa and the fox

no change since last update with the exception of some brainstorming

sin rostro

holding off because other projects are louder right now.  still excited for this idea, though

emilia antonia

started the next chapter.

probably going to be focusing on this as one of my primary focuses in the new year.  actually i should poll about this.

falling

have another chapter written but not posted but not sure if want to keep that direction or not

started the chapter past that one as well

aftershocks

all of the current chapters are posted

back to back-burner

debating a flashback chapter

the time of your life

finished posting bitches get glitches

rafael’s fic - and the rest of this series - is one of my potential primary focuses in the new year.  i’m still really excited about this series and where it’s going.

have working titles for both rafael’s and petra’s fics.

apparently michael, who i hadn’t planned to have involved, is maybe going to actually show up.  i’m thinking his first appearance might be in petra’s fic, but i’m not sure on that point.

unposted fics:

where the lightning splits the sea:

aka roisa hp au

the first book rough draft is probably going to be my primary focus in the new year, as i stated above.

currently in chapter eleven of what i expect will be sixteen.  chapter lengths vary, so it’s possible that when i go through the second write i may change chapter divisions so that they aren’t too long for ao3 postings.

i’m still super excited to be writing this one and super excited to jump into this fic so - i haven’t hit burnout, which is amazing.

mexican stud

aka rosalint fic

no change from last update

probably a primary focus in the new year as stated above

everything’s coming up roses

no change from last update

various other soulmate aus

no change from last update

epic superhero crossover

aka jtv/tick/timeless/supergirl/x-files/agent carter/person of interest crossover

possibly also to include proven innocent and deputy in a tie-in with the x-files aspect - re: how to get mulder and scully directly involved and not just have the syndicate and world-building aspects

still getting bigger

obviously i have added in person of interest as part of the crossover - primarily because i pulled in wendy mcnally - bridget’s character - from one of the episodes not because i’m pulling in main characters or themes (although there’s a possibility of that)

i have started bits and pieces of this

mexican stud, obviously

mostly dottie/lint stuff

and then a few thousand words in collateral damage, which is basically the wendylu fic that explains what happens with luisa in the three years after rose’s death

the primary fic taking place three years after rose dies but there are a lot of other interconnecting fics that cover that period and earlier, etc.

i want this to be a primary focus, but it’s...complicated

timeless/noir fusion fic

HEY I STARTED IT

IT SHOULD BE REALLY COOL

LOOK IT’S EXCITING AND I WANT TO WRITE MORE OF IT

basic premise: lucy teams up with amnesiac!assassin!emma as they delve into secret societies and etc.

emma is an assassin and has amnesia.

rittenhouse doesn’t suck.

carol doesn’t suck.

lucy is still a history professor, but at amy’s behest (YEAH AMY’S ALIVE), she went to a smaller university somewhere else instead of going into carol’s department

idk who else will show up in the fic yet - emma probably has one of the machines but i’m not sure which one yet either, so that means probably should look at rufus/jiya/mason and maybe flynn BUT not sure

noir is very female-focused with no male main characters so trying to mesh that with timeless is complicated

the focus would need to be on emma and lucy and their relationship

as a result, this will likely end up being prestmore.

sorry not sorry.

there are other projects i’ve considered - like one with nymphs kind of related to something else, and pick-up lines month like i mentioned above, AND ALSO @only-freakin-sunflowers AND I MIGHT BE BRAINSTORMING A COLLAB PROJECT - but i think that’s a good place to stop for now.  ^^

[aparticularbandit]

also also - i plan to try and keep having content to post for mondays, but i don't think i'll necessarily keep to a strict schedule on what will be updated. after ACAL, i kind of want a schedule break. ><

i do have enough backlog to cover the three non-roisa fic week mondays in august (well, almost, I started the third chapter of the university fic and if i want i have other stuff i've started i can do instead, so i'm not really worried at this point) so that gives me freedom to do writing on a multitude of things for pretty much the next month, which is basically the month-long break i'd intended to be last month so. even if there's only monday updates, y'all should be covered.

as far as project updates, here's what we're looking at in terms of bigger projects:

continuing chapter updates on iylhybhn - because it's...i've got it brainstormed a while further

potential continuing chapter updates on j:trs - it's my cathartic fic response to s5 so - might not be as potentially regular as iylhybhn but. short little chapters here and there? maybe probably

start posting the university au - emilia antonia - because that's what i have backlogged right now and i reread what i had last month and i want more of it which means maybe i should write more of it

episodic chapter updates of heart in motion - it's episodic so it depends on when i have good episode ideas

potential chapter updates to aftershocks - I have flashback ideas to address how it's technically still post-s5 but rose isn't dead

potential more updates to shenanigans: ACAL edition because alternate ending and blooper reel and follow-up on allison's character arc and more santa!emilio because why not - but this might be a bit because as much as ideas for this i have other projects i want to focus on first

new project: tentatively titled sin rostro - 1920's mafia/mob boss au. petra plays a major part in this and i'm. excited

new project: tentatively titled falling - yes, that's a different title from even yesterday i'm playing around with how those feel - and this is post-s5 luisa dealing with the emotional and mental ramifications of accidentally killing rose with her no-longer-a-practicing-therapist alana bloom and basically living on the verger-bloom farm because yo horse therapy is a thing

new project: tentatively titled luisa and the child - simply put, this is a sequel to luisa and the fox. it might jump the gun a little bit. oh well

as far as other projects being brainstormed or in the process of being written but which i'm holding back on:

everything's coming up roses - the 90's rom-com au - there's a lot of similarities in luisa's characterization between this and ACAL, so i want to hold off a bit

when the lightning strikes the sea - roisa hp au featuring miss lint - i want to get back into writing book one, but i still plan to hold off on posting until the whole book is done with a rough draft, a second write, and hopefully a couple of betas - one for roisa content and one for hp content. then it's just a quick run-through and post. so! still in-progress! but might be a bit

dreamers often lie - roisa soulmate au - i should start writing this because it feels like it's at that point of brainstorming block until some writing is done

jtv s3b+ rewrite - tentatively titled fire in my blood - backburner brainstorming

another soulmate au one-shot that works well with the s5 ending that keeps knocking around and desperately wants to be written and hopefully remains a one-shot and doesn't expand

potential continuation one-shot of the roisa soulmate timer au one-shot - this one would be focused on jane

epic jtv/superhero/timeless crossover - I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ON THIS BUT WANT TO BETTER CLARIFY AND ADDRESS THE SG STUFF - but dottie/lint and roisa and emma/whitney and a heaping helping of mama!rhea with lena and dottie - because using ben's rhea because love her - like. i have some of the plotlines etc. hammered out but want to figure out how kara is involved and which sg season i'm using etc. so. massive crossover yay

i also have a concluding one-shot to the day her line went flat series of one-shots that should probably be fine after a read-through rewrite edit or something like that.

...and i also have another hallmark holiday special started that is more of a subversion and luisa's the one going to the small town and also clara's dad? might? be? involved? there's no mia but there is a dog, if i remember correctly. but that one might be a while i'm really tired when it comes to hallmark and Christmas fluff. >.>

...and then the dottie is sin rostro fic. except dottie and rose both exist because it plays with the idea that the faceless refers more to a group of people than one individual - that it is split between rose, elena, and derek. except i may change that. dottie is definitely dottie is the point here.

...and then the timeless/noir fusion fic which is way back on the burner because reasons.

[aparticularbandit]

so the current poll results tend to suggest the following:

y’all want the roisa soulmate fic.  y’all really want the roisa soulmate fic. i haven’t started writing this one yet, and i don’t have the clearest vision of everything involved.  in point of fact, one of the ideas i was planning on using here i think works better for a one-shot but i have another soulmate trope added in instead.  there’s, like, three different soulmate trope prompts at play here.  still kind of working on unpacking some of the hard rules i want to use for those tropes, but this is definitely a doable thing, given that i have that full month of july to start on this. you have been heard loud and clear.

y’all want the roisa university fic. this is easier.  i already have a couple of chapters roughed out and started on the third, so i already have that backlog started.  this one doesn’t require as much world-building thought as the soulmate fic, so it’ll be easier to make a bigger backlog, like i had with carla and like i had with luisa and the fox.  given that i like alternating between projects (particularly between rougher and lighter projects), this is a good fic to alternate with the soulmate fic. again, you have been heard loud and clear.

after those two, which are clearly ahead, it looks like there are two different tiers of things y’all would like, and i’m mostly just going to focus on that first tier (the second tier feels like hm, this would be nice, but want the other things more).  so, that top tier:

y’all want iylhybhn updated twice a month. right now, given the arc we’re in, this is likely doable.  i have a fairly clear direction on the next...ten? eleven? chapters? roughly? maybe a little more?  so doing more than one chapter a month is doable.  i don’t plan on necessarily having a backlog on these, though, because right now i’m approximating 7k a week (sometimes more), and that’s roughly the length of an iylhybhn chapter (i think chapter ten was a little over 8k after the second write).  so basically, i want a backlog of other things so that i can write these more regularly. you have been heard loud and clear.

put jane: the real story on the monday update schedule. given the above two regarding the soulmate fic and the university fic, this may not happen.  i don’t want to try and push for a two times a week update schedule right now (although that has been my tendency, i like it not being...like, it’s an eventual goal, maybe, but i feel like that’s a bit of a stretch).  however, i do see that y’all want more regular updates on this, so maybe i can do these in-between writing chapters of iylhybhn.  these are lighter (mostly but not always) and really cathartic in terms of writing it, so they’re good in-between those. so might be updated once or twice a month, but likely not on the monday schedule.

put more luisa and the fox content on the monday update schedule. given the above two regarding the soulmate fic and the university fic, this probably shouldn’t happen but is silightly more likely than j:trs.  this fic is basically my favorite.  i already have some backlog on extra content once the fic is finished, and i already have an idea for furthering content.  because there is a stronger plan here in terms of what comes next, it’s easier for me to do this than j:trs, and since they’re on the same tier, i lean towards this one. so, likely, but not necessarily.

update the pokemon fic more regularly. considering i haven’t updated either of these since, like, november? december? i think november, this is doable. ish.  i don’t have a clear plot on luisa’s fic, but i do have a clear plot on clara’s fic.  so it’s possible i’ll update that second part more than the first.  this is on the backburner a bit, but i can try to, you know, not wait half a year in-between updates.  >< you have been heard loud and clear.

start posting everything’s coming up rose’s. i have a backlog on this, but it’s really rough and needs some editing.  i think i made it to chapter...i was in chapter three?  these chapters tend to be long - of the 17k i think i had, that covered...two full chapters, two partial chapters, a flashback, and...something else.  so, like, these chapters are long the way iylhybhn’s chapters are long.  may not backlog on these the way i want to backlog with my writing in july, but might.  probably won’t start posting these until after august - mostly i want to give a bit of a breather between this and the hallmark fic because they’re companion pieces and deal with similar themes - or, really, this is the fuller extrapolation of a lot of ideas i had when brainstorming those fics.

so, basically, what i’m thinking in terms of the monday schedule after july is:

update iylhybhn.

update the roisa university fic.

update iylhybhn.

update luisa and the fox content.

and then just alternate that way - primarily because university fic and luisa and the fox content are easier to build a backlog of stuff that’s just done and can go up during the month without me worrying about doing a bunch of writing and rushing each week. outside of that, in july, i want to:

start writing the roisa soulmate fic.

these may or may not be posted as chapters are available after july

idk how big of a backlog i’ll be able to do here, but i can do more brainstorming and writing during july for this

right now maybe tentatively look at a once a month schedule after july?

keep writing the roisa hp au.

i know this wasn’t on the poll, but it was still the highest voted from the last polls, so it’s still high up on the things people want tier

i still want to have an entire book of backlog before posting.  kind of like what i’m doing with the hallmark special.  i found that this was really helpful in terms of setting things up well for luisa and the fox, and i like having special fic projects that are done this way.

again, i plan on this being a weekly thursday update schedule per book

once the first book has been through two drafts with me and maybe goes to betas - so basically when it’s in its third (or fourth) draft, i want to start posting it.

i want this to be the process for each book, so there may be a long wait between each book.

have a bigger backlog of the roisa university fic.

in keeping with the potential new monday update schedule.

have a bigger backlog of luisa and the fox content.

again, in keeping with the potential new monday update schedule.

beyond that, i want to:

keep writing jane: the real story.

plan on a once or twice a month update but, like, tend towards still once a month.

because this is a lot of writing, y’all, and at this point, even looking at everything, it’s intimidating and i already feel spread thin.

keep writing everything’s coming up rose’s.

partly for backlog, partly i just really like this fic a lot.

potentially also a once a month update after august??

go back to writing the pokemon fic(s).

potentially update every other month.

keep writing heart in motion.

despite being on the lower tier on the polls, this fic has a lot of traffic.  not everyone who reads my stuff on ao3 gets here for polls, and from stats, this is wanted.

potentially also update every other month - i have a harder time with this fic in terms of getting into everyone’s voices across all of the characters.

feel free to pursue other projects at will.

this includes aftershocks and the rosalint fic and the super epic crossover and potentially other pairs (dottie/lint, for instance, would be really cool)

i still want to write an epic rose/dottie/whitney/lint/emma fic because can you imagine the five of them working together it would be great.

and this last one, in particular, is important because honestly, looking at all of this feels really intimidating and it looks like a lot and i know me and jumping between projects and i know that sometimes what i want to do in terms of what i know y’all want is not always what i end up doing because there are other ideas that really interest me.  and i don’t want to give up that freedom to adhere to all of this.  but it’s also nice to have a general plan of where to direct when i don’t feel overwhelming muse for one particular project or another. anyway.  here!  a thing.  ^^ also the poll is still open, so if y’all want to vote, feel free, and i’ll potentially change these sorts of ideas accordingly.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 27 August 2018

Quick Bits:

A Walk Through Hell #4 focuses largely on flashbacks to the case the agents were working before whatever’s currently happening happened and...I’m not really sure of anything that’s going on. I think that’s kind of the point, unsure as to how everything is supposed to connect and what any of it all adds up to. Great art from Goran Sudžuka and Ive Svorcina, though.

| Published by AfterShock

Beyonders #1 is off to a great start. Between this and The Lost City Explorers, it seems like AfterShock right now has pseudoarchaeology stitched up and it’s wonderful. Paul Jenkins, Wesley St. Claire, and Marshall Dillon kick this one off with a wee bit more crunch, though there’s a very interesting upheaval this issue that will make you wonder what’s going on.

| Published by AfterShock

Blackwood #4 brings this series to an end and it is dark. Very dark. Evan Dorkin, Veronica & Andy Fish have crafted a wonderful horror story here, with some interesting twists, and one hell of an ending.

| Published by Dark Horse

Bone Parish #2 takes a deep dive in to some of the foundational moments of the Winters clan, even as they begin to deal with the fallout of one of their dealers dying from an overdose. This is great stuff. The art from Jonas Scharf and Alex Guimarães is incredible. Great detail and atmosphere, perfectly bringing to life the premise and characters from Cullen Bunn.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Brothers Dracul #5 circles back around to the beginning of the story, as we reach the end of this interesting retelling and interpretation of the intersection of both the historical and legendary story of Vlad the Impaler, from Cullen Bunn, Mirko Colak, Maria Santaolalla, and Simon Bowland. There’s an interesting twist here that certainly paints Vlad’s action in a different light, and I hope we see it followed up upon in a second series.

| Published by AfterShock

Cyber Force #5 is a nice change of pace as Bryan Hill, Matt Hawkins, Atilio Rojo, and Troy Peteri introduce us to another old familiar face. This incarnation of the team definitely is taking its time to be brought together, but when the storytelling is as entertaining and the artwork is as gorgeous as this, it doesn’t really matter. To note, though, this is not the kind of decompression that feels empty or padded, it’s just fleshing out characters and their lives more than what we’ve seen before.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Daredevil Annual #1 presents a standalone story of Misty Knight’s days as a detective and her first meeting with Daredevil. It’s good. It feels a bit more like a pilot for a Misty Knight series than necessarily a Daredevil tale, but, as I said, it’s good. The art from Marcio Takara and Marcelo Maiolo is nice. I really like Takara’s style which gives me hints of Phil Hester, Jim Mahfood, and Tomm Coker.

| Published by Marvel

Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate #5 is another fun one, with a focus this issue on Boo. I’ve really enjoyed this series, with Jim Zub giving the party a bit of a breather between larger adventures and giving a great look at them as individual characters. Great art, too, including this issue from Francesco Mortarino and Jordi Escuin.

| Published by IDW

Edge of Spider-Geddon #2 gives us a view into another alternate Spiderverse, circling back around to SP//dr, and giving us a new twist on the power and responsibility rubric and VEN#m. It’s nice to see Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson play with more technological horror, with some incredible artwork from Alberto Alburquerque and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

Euthanauts #2 is a thing of beauty. Nick Robles and Eva De La Cruz are seriously delivering some of the best art in comics right now with this series. The page layouts, character designs, use of colour, and incorporation of lettering choices from Aditya Bidikar, just elevate the storytelling immensely. Not even to mention how Tini Howard is making the weird science seamless in the dialogue. This is great.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Exiles #7 concludes the Old West-ish arc with cowboy T’Challa. Drop dead gorgeous artwork from guest artist Rod Reis. His depiction of the ultimate villain here shows some nice influence from Bill Sienkiewicz.

| Published by Marvel

Extermination #2 brings the fight to the school, even as the team (and the reader, although it’s not a bad thing) is still confused as to what is really going on. I love this, the tension that Ed Brisson, Pepe Larraz, and Marte Gracia are building is palpable, and the hints of kid!Cable’s actions are chilling. Also, the art is just phenomenal. 

| Published by Marvel

Harbinger Wars 2 #4 is kind of the end to this, but the ramifications and fallout are all supposed to appear in the Aftermath issue. That being said, Matt Kindt, Tomás Giorello, Renato Guedes, Diego Rodriguez, and Dave Sharpe go all out for the spectacle in this final confrontation between Livewire and X-O Manowar. It is still kind of insane how Capshaw could possibly consider what GATE and OMEN have done as being “good”, especially in light of Palmer going absolutely batshit insane, but it does lead to interesting set-up for future conflicts.

| Published by Valiant

Hillbilly: Red-Eyed Witchery From Beyond #1 begins the next adventure of the black-eyed tramp. I get a bit of a Beowulf vibe from Eric Powell’s set-up and I’m interested to see where it goes. This series sees Powell passing on the artistic duties to Simone Di Meo, Brennan Wagner, and Warren Montgomery and it’s an interesting visual shift from the washes of Powell’s own work in the original series. I quite like Di Meo’s style, which reminds me a bit of James Harren and Troy Nixey.

| Published by Albatross Funnybooks

House Amok #1 is something I’m not sure I can describe. It’s kind of a family drama, but if that family were all collectively sharing a hallucinatory experience or delusion. It’s a very interesting concept that’s only partially revealed by Christopher Sebela, Shawn McManus, Lee Loughridge, and Aditya Baker, but it leads to a very compelling start here. Gorgeous artwork from McManus and Loughridge.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Hunt for Wolverine: Dead Ends #1, like all four of the Hunt for Wolverine mini-series, is kind of a bit of treading water. I cannot say it or any of the previous series are bad, taken on their own separated from this “event”, they’re usually quite good, but as a whole it’s kind of disappointing. It’s a search for Wolverine that kind of comes up empty, acting as a prequel to the return of Wolverine, despite already having returned in Marvel Legacy and hopped across numerous different titles, before apparently being used for evil, as per throwaway bits in the fourth issues of those previously mentioned minis that didn’t necessarily connect with the plots of those minis. It feels a bit scattered and unnecessary, unfortunately, especially when it comes to comparing notes, coming up with the organization we already knew was behind it, and a bit of hand-waving mystery and grandstanding that still tells us a whole lot of nothing. It’s sound and fury. All of which is a bit of a shame because I otherwise generally enjoy the work of Charles Soule and Ramon Rosanas.

| Published by Marvel

Isola #5... Just look at the artwork. Karl Kerschl and Msassyk just keep delivering page after page after page of beauty.

| Published by Image

Jessica Jones #2 reaffirms that this is one of the best things that Marvel is currently publishing, with the next two chapters in this story. Kelly Thompson’s dialogue, narration, and banter throughout this issue is spot on, propulsive, and funny as hell when it needs to be, but what elevates it is that this isn’t your typical talking heads approach. The characters are doing stuff, like hunting sea monsters, instead of sitting at a desk or whatever. It’s a refreshing change that overall just makes this all the better. Not to mention Mattia De Iulis’ stunning artwork. It’s slick and polished with a line style that somewhat reminds me of Paul Gulacy and a bit of Rick Mays, and an approach to shadow and colour similar to Frazer Irving. This is a great series that really shouldn’t be missed.

| Published by Marvel

Judge Dredd: Under Siege #4 wraps up this entertaining series from Mark Russell, Max Dunbar, Jose Luis Rio, and Shawn Lee. I really like Dunbar’s take on Dredd and the Russell’s idea of people creating their own law in the absence of law is an interesting philosophical counterpoint to the idea of man naturally sliding towards a state of chaos. Even the mutants striving for society is an interesting challenge to the typical idea of things falling apart.

| Published by IDW

New Mutants: Dead Souls #6 concludes the series with Illyana putting the pieces together for what actually has been going on, it isn’t a pretty picture. This has been a great series from Matthew Rosenberg, Adam Gorham, Michael Garland, and Clayton Cowles and the revelations this issue are heavy. The implications for the X-universe is huge and I want more.

| Published by Marvel

The New World #2 essentially reveals itself as a romance comic, amidst the ultraviolence and social engineering. Didn’t really see that coming, but it’s an interesting move. Trippy art from Tradd Moore, Heather Moore, and Ludwig Olimba.

| Published by Image

Paradise Court #2 continues to be an entertaining horror comic from Joe Brusha, Babisu Kourtis, Leonardo Paciarotti, and Taylor Esposito. This gives us the part of the story where our protagonist is experiencing the horror and everyone else is telling her she’s just imagining it, but it’s still well told and well illustrated.

| Published by Zenescope

Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons #1 is about as perfect a crossover of two properties as you can get. Morty trying to get into D&D because he thinks it will get him laid is the perfect in to the world of the game and the cartoon, perfectly blending the two for fans of both without alienating or diminishing either. Jim Zub, Patrick Rothfuss, Troy Little, Leonardo Ito, and Robbie Robbins are faithful to both and in doing so deliver a wonderful beginning to this story, that also educates along the way.

| Published by IDW & Oni Press

Runaways #12 is easily one of the best issues in what has already been an exemplary series. Rainbow Rowell, Kris Anka, Matthew Wilson, and Joe Carmagna focus here on forgiveness, acceptance, and second chances, with some truly beautiful character work between Gert & Victor and Nico & Karolina. If you don’t have a giant grin on your face by the end of the issue, I question your humanity.

| Published by Marvel

Submerged #2 is still weird, very weird, but there’s some really good bits in here demonstrating some of the emotional manipulation that family members sometimes employ. Beautiful, ethereal artwork from Lisa Sterle and Stelladia.

| Published by Vault

Venom: First Host #1 is somewhat strange to see in light of where Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman have taken the character, but this limited series from Mike Costa, Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Clayton Cowles serves as both an interesting addendum to the symbiote’s history and as a continuation (and likely capstone) to the previous creative team’s run. It’s pretty decent.

| Published by Marvel

Web of Venom: Ve’Nam #1 is a one shot fleshing out the backstory of Rex Strickland and the SHIELD experiment that bonded the early symbiotes to soldiers set loose during the Vietnam War. It’s an entertaining tale with some nice guest stars and sweet art by Donny Cates, Juanan Ramírez, Felipe Sobreiro, and Clayton Cowles. I particularly like the scratchy, faded look in the art to make it look a bit “old”.

| Published by Marvel

X-23 #3 is great. Mariko Tamaki has nailed the characters and the art from Juann Cabal and Nolan Woodard is incredible. The page designs alone elevate the storytelling immensely.

| Published by Marvel

The X-Files: Case Files - Hoot Goes There? #2 concludes the second of this new approach of a series of mini-series and it’s...weird? Funny, but weird. Definitely taking a page out of some of the more outlandish episodes of the series, where you question whether or not what you saw happened actually happened. Still, it’s entertaining, which is all that really matters. Fun from Joe and Keith Lansdale, Silvia Califano, Valentina Pinto, and Shawn Lee.

| Published by IDW

X-Men Blue #34 looks like it largely serves as a capstone to Cullen Bunn’s work with Magneto over the past four years or so, as he winds down his run here and continues to tidy the characters up a bit before he’s done and hands the reins off to the next band of storytellers. It feels like there’s a lot more here that he would have like to have told, but what we get here is still excellent. The hints at the next stage for Magneto and mutantkind are intriguing. Great art from Marcus To and Matt Milla. 

| Published by Marvel

X-O Manowar #18 gives an interesting transition from this flashback of Aric’s pre-Shanhara life to his return to Earth, focusing on how ideas, people, and culture keeps changing. Matt Kindt delivers a pretty chilling reaction to it. All with some nice artwork from Trevor Hairsine, Brian Thies, and Diego Rodriguez. 

| Published by Valiant

Other Highlights: Deadpool: Assassin #6, GI Joe: A Real American Hero #255, KINO #9, Marvel Two-in-One #9, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Shattered Grid #1, Modern Fantasy #3, Moon Knight #198, Ms. Marvel #33, Red Sonja #20, Rick & Morty #41, StarCraft: Scavengers #2, Star Wars: Lando - Double or Nothing #4, Star Wars: Poe Dameron Annual #2, Star Wars Adventures #13, TMNT: Bebop & Rocksteady Hit the Road #5, Wayward #28, X-Men: Grand Design - Second Genesis #2

Recommended Collections: 2021 - Volume 1, 30 Days of Night, Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack - Volume 1, Black Cloud - Volume 2: No Return, DuckTales Classics - Volume 1, Eugenic, Factory, Femme Magnifique, I Hate Fairyland - Volume 4, James Bond: Hammerhead, Judas, Killer Instinct, Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses - Volume 2

d. emerson eddy is not the very model of a modern major general. Nor a scientist salarian for that matter.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 3 December 2018

Quick Bits:

Batman #60 sure is something. There’s echoes of Knightfall with Batman seemingly going off the deep end when it comes to beating up villains in search for answers about Bane. You’ve got to wonder if it’s all just misdirection, bringing about extreme alienation from Gordon all the while. The scenes of Batman running amok through his villains are illustrated by Jorge Fornés (with colours from Jordie Bellaire) and you’d swear it’s the second coming of David Mazzucchelli. Fornés’ style is perfect for Batman.

| Published by DC Comics

Blackbird #3 is still keeping us off-balance, giving us hints of the Paragon world, but still navigating the edges, leaving us almost as in the dark as Nina. There’s a revelation this issue, though, that may make everything make sense. Great art from Jen Bartel, Paul Reinwand, and Tríona Farrell. The designs for the Paragons and the “true” appearance of the city are very well done.

| Published by Image

BPRD: The Devil You Know #11 kicks off the end with the first part of “Ragna Rok”, but before getting to Rasputin’s wrath, we get Varvara’s origin story. Great art from Christopher Mitten, Laurence Campbell, and Dave Stewart.

| Published by Dark Horse

Clankillers #5 brings the series to an end as Cillian and the remaining forces confront Fin as possessed by the spirit of Balor. This is a good end that seeks to break the cycle of violence we’ve seen since the first issue. Overall a wonderful series from Sean Lewis, Antonio Fuso, Stefano Simeone, and Dave Sharpe.

| Published by AfterShock

Crowded #5 pushes us closer to the conclusion of the first arc, literally, as the narrative is hijacked by the Reapr sensation, Trotter. It’s very interesting to see how damaged overall these characters are that Christopher Sebela is giving voice to. They all seem to have some fundamental flaws that have broken them and led them into a world where crowd-funded contract killing seems like a good idea.

| Published by Image

The Curse of Brimstone #9 is one of the New Age of Heroes books I actually quite like, so of course it’s ending soon. That said, I’ll see it out to the end, even if the Doctor Fate this issue seems a bit at odds with the one in Justice League Dark. Still, Justin Jordan, Eduardo Pansica, Júlio Ferreira, Rain Beredo, and Wes Abbott give us an entertaining tale exploring the nature of Brimstone.

| Published by DC Comics

Dark Ark #12 introduces all sorts of complications as Shrae and the monsters approach landfall, ratcheting up the tensions and machinations amongst the factions, and the looming threat that Shrae and his family may not be much longer for the world as their patrons leave them. Cullen Bunn and Juan Doe are crafting an amazing story here.

| Published by AfterShock

Death Orb #3 tosses us some pretty dark humour amidst the action and ever closer threat of planet death. The action sequence between the Rider and the Ninja, though brief, is very entertaining.

| Published by Dark Horse

Deathstroke #38 gets more complicated even as it begins to untie the Gordian Knot of Slade’s insanity. The plot here from Priest is fairly intricate, but it all makes sense if we accept that everything we’ve been told by him is the truth and we just weren’t shown his trip via the Zeta Beam. It fits better with what’s been going on outside the walls of Arkham. Also wonderful artwork from Fernando Pasarin, Jason Paz, and Jeromy Cox.

| Published by DC Comics

Die #1 is incredible. It taps into the same primal childhood nostalgia present in things like IT, The Goonies, Stranger Things, and more, wrapping it in a roleplaying game in a fantasy world, but with an ever-present feeling of dread and loss because something went horribly, horribly wrong. Great work here from Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles.

| Published by Image

Doctor Strange #9 is a wonderful single issue story dealing with an aggressive land developer trying numerous means through the years to acquire the property on Bleecker Street. It’s a different kind of adversary for Strange, but Mark Waid, Jesús Saiz, and Cory Petit make what might well be the best issue of this volume yet. It’s interesting to see a more human side of Strange here, caring for his community, but it works. Especially with the gorgeous artwork from Saiz, including some incredibly well designed creatures.

| Published by Marvel

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #2 continues to be highly entertaining as the Doctor and friends try to escape from the clutches of the Army of the Just. Jody Houser, Rachael Stott, Giorgia Sposito, Valeria Favoccia, Enrica Eren Angiolini, Viviana Spinelli, Sara Michieli, Andrea Moretto, Richard Starkings, Sarah Jacobs, and John Roshell capture the tone, atmosphere, and appearance of the television series perfectly, serving as a nice companion piece to the show and a good comic in its own right.

| Published by Titan

The Freeze #1 is a compelling debut from Dan Wickline, Phillip Sevy, and Troy Peteri. We’re thrust into a world where everyone has frozen, stopped moving, but by all appearances it’s just people, everything else is still in motion. It’s told through the perspective of the one person who didn’t freeze, Ray Adams, and the first issue raises a lot of questions as to what’s going on.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Goliath Girls #2 is a Comixology original from Sam Humphries, Alti Firmansyah, Brittany Peer, and Jodi Wynne delving into the kaiju genre with aplomb. It’s colourful and action-packed, with some great art from Firmansyah and Peer, and an interesting take on the kaiju that evokes more of the human/mech bond that we’ve seen in the robo variation on the genre like Mech Cadet Yu.

| Published by Shadow Valley

The Green Lantern #2 continues this excellent new take on the Green Lanterns from Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp, Steve Oliff, and Tom Orzechowski. It maintains the Silver Age meets 2000 AD & Heavy Metal feel from the first issue, but still feels incredibly fresh and new. The art from Sharp and Oliff is just stunning.

| Published by DC Comics

Grumble #1 is a wonderful debut from Rafer Roberts, Mike Norton, Marissa Louise, and Crank! delving into a world of magic, con artistry, and running for your life from an intergalactic authority trying to erase you from existence. And a mook who’s trapped in the form of a pug. It’s rather funny and pretty great.

| Published by Albatross Funnybooks

Hack/Slash vs. Chaos! #1 is off to a decent start with Tim Seeley back in the writer’s chair for Cassie and Vlad, joined by Rapha Lobosco, Dee Cunniffe, and Crank! to round out the creative team. I don’t have a lot (read, pretty much any) of experience with the Chaos characters, but this still works framed as a straightforward Hack/Slash tale. Lobosco’s art is very nice for the story. He’s not delivering a straight-up Risso-clone style here anymore, developing more of his own grittier tone, and it’s great to see.

| Published by Dynamite

Her Infernal Descent #5 concludes the series with the final descent into the deepest reaches of Hell. I’m not really sure what happened, but this final issue is illustrated by Eoin Marron, replacing Kyle Charles, and he does a good job of taken us that last mile. This has been an interesting series, using Dante’s Inferno as a framework for a personal tale of one woman’s reflection on grief and her own personal hell. Lonnie Nadler, Zac Thompson, Charles & Marron, Dee Cunniffe, Ryan Ferrier & Marshall Dillon gave us something very unique to comics.

| Published by AfterShock

Immortal Hulk #10 has reached the point where I think I’m running out of superlatives for this series, it’s the most incredible Hulk story I’ve read in decades. Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Le Beau Underwood, Rafael Fonteriz, Paul Mounts, and Cory Petit deliver another stunning chapter, concluding the battle between Hulk and Creel in a manner even more terrifying than Creel’s appearance.

| Published by Marvel

Immortal Hulk: The Best Defense #1, along with the Namor title this week, begins “The Best Defense” event. It apparently features four lead-ins of the individual original members of the Defenders, which can be read in any order and appear independent of one another, followed by the finale in The Defender: The Best Defense in two weeks. This one is from Immortal Hulk’s regular writer, Al Ewing, along with Simone Di Meo, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Cory Petit. It follows the same horror atmosphere and tone of the main Immortal Hulk book, presenting a mysteriously abandoned town and the desiccated corpse of Doctor Strange.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League #13 explores Joker’s recruitment to the Legion of Doom and his thoughts on their current activities in this third issue devoted to them from James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Arif Prianto, and Tom Napolitano. The art from March and Prianto is suitably dark and strange, perfectly encapsulating Joker’s madness.

| Published by DC Comics

Killmonger #1 is an interesting start, picking up an interpretation of the character similar to how he appeared in the Black Panther movie, but pushing him further. The art from Juan Ferreyra is gorgeous, running us through a variety of styles for the flashbacks, present day, dreams, and such that are just incredible, really enhancing the overall story.

| Published by Marvel

LaGuardia #1 begins a rich sci-fi tale from Nnedi Okorafor, Tana Ford, James Devlin, and Sal Cipriano. This first issue introduces us to a world where aliens of all sorts have made themselves known to humans and begun visiting, some even seeming to be living here, through the eyes of Future Nwafor Chukwuebuka and Citizen Raphael Nwabara. It’s interesting to see the sociopolitical and social landscapes of this story develop and how they intertwine with the characters, along with some gorgeous art from Ford and Devlin.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

The Last Siege #7 takes an impressive risk for its penultimate issue, choosing to go silent for the breakout of the full battle against the castle. It’s great. The storytelling through the art is wonderful, words would only get in the way. Landry Q. Walker, Justin Greenwood, Brad Simpson, and Patrick Brosseau really bring it this issue.

| Published by Image

Lodger #2 continues this incredibly unique crime story from David and Maria Lapham. It’s one part serial killer’s travelogue, one part revenge quest, and all parts compelling drama.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Low Road West #4 answers a few more questions, but leaves a hell of a lot more for the conclusion next issue. Just as we’re getting some answers, it swerves into more action as the kids get chased again by the government agents. This is weird, but good weird. The art from Flaviano and Miquel Muerto really sells how strange this world has become.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Martian Manhunter #1 contains the first depiction that I know of for green martian sex. It’s...maybe what you’d expect from a race than can change its form at will. The first issue of this 12-issue maxi-series from Steve Orlando, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Deron Bennett is unconventional, blending a procedural with a pretty brutal murder and a kind of personal history of J’onn on Mars. And it’s not at all what you’d expect. This is good. Weird, but good.

| Published by DC Comics

Marvel Knights #3 sees Tini Howard and Damian Couceiro join Donny Cates in the fun for a dive into how Frank Castle was tracking down the amnesiac heroes and watching his relationships fall apart in the process. This one feels harder, harsher, than the first two chapters, but it perfectly fits the Punisher. Also some dark humour.

| Published by Marvel

Namor: The Best Defense #1 gives us what’s mainly a political thriller mixed with a monster battle, as Namor searches for allies in the remote Atlantean colony of Vodan, in this tale from Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Ian Herring, and Travis Lanham. The art from Magno and Herring is worth the price of admission alone, but there’s also some very interesting hints at what might be coming in the new Invaders series.

| Published by Marvel

Ninja-K #14 brings the series to an end in fairly explosive style as Christos Gage, Roberto de la Torre, José Villarrubia, and A Larger World Studios tender Colin King’s resignation. The action this issue is pretty phenomenal, with some of the best art I’ve seen from de la Torre, outdoing himself very impressively.

| Published by Valiant

Prodigy #1 is another interesting new Millarworld project, introducing us to Edison Crane, a celebrity super-genius seemingly solving all the world’s problems, and he’s about to embark on one hell of one with a possible invasion from an alternate reality. In some ways, this is almost a more “realistic” take on what would happen if Reed Richards existed in our world, just slightly to the left, but it’s still a compelling story from Mark Millar, Rafael Albuquerque, Marcelo Maiolo, and Peter Doherty.

| Published by Image

Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons #3 throws Morty’s dad into the mix as the group travel to a reality where D&D is real. This continues to be a nigh perfect mash-up of the two properties as Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Zub, Troy Little, Leonardo Ito, and Robbie Robbins delve into some of the traditional elements of adventuring. Also, not talking about fourth edition is a good idea.

| Published by IDW & Oni Press

Self/Made #1 is a very impressive debut from Mat Groom, Eduardo Ferigato, Marcelo Costa, and Troy Peteri. It starts as a very well told, beautifully illustrated fantasy tale set in Arcadia of a quest to stop the evil from conquering the world, with a great character in Amala, but it becomes something so much more. Highly recommend this one.

| Published by Image

Star Wars: Age of Republic - Qui-Gon Jinn #1 is the first of this new series of one shots intent on giving more insight to the various characters around the Star Wars universe across the ages, as they fit in the new canon since Disney took over. It’s kind of weird to see this kind of thing again after the Expanded Universe already did it over decades, but I can’t say that this isn’t good. Jody Houser, Cory Smith, Walden Wong, Java Tartaglia, and Travis Lanham deliver a suitably introspective tale as Qui-Gon tries to deal with the conflict between two warring factions of a world of wood/metal and by extension the light and dark sides of the Force. There are some really nice designs and images of Coruscant and the unnamed world Qui-Gon meditates on in the book.

| Published by Marvel

United States vs. Murder Inc. #4 sees the five families send Rose and Gallo to assassinate the President. Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming, Taki Soma, and Carlos M. Mangual deliver more twists this issue, upheaving the status quo and sending it into yet another direction. Also further reinforcement that Valentine really isn’t suited to this life.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Venom #9 kicks off “The Abyss” with a returning Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Frank Martin. Donny Cates’ narration for Eddie really takes us inside the character here, building out his fears, grief, and history as he tries to reconnect with his father. It’s an incredible deep dive for some really well done character building.

| Published by Marvel

West Coast Avengers #5 begins the next arc, following through the team’s relationship issues and tossing them into a creepy abandoned amusement park, ostensibly following through Madame Masque’s revenge scheme from the last Hawkeye series (though you needn’t have read that, I highly recommend that you do. It’s great). Daniele Di Nicuolo joins Tríona Farrell on the art and it’s nice to see him doing some work for Marvel.

| Published by Marvel

The Wicked + The Divine #40 begins “Okay” with a very interesting structure to the story. Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson, Clayton Cowles, and Dee Cunniffe present this story at a distance, through various forms of cameras. It gives the story a very different kind of feel, mimicking the viewpoint from a vlog on YouTube at points, security cameras at others, and some other forms of video viewing, keeping the reader at arm’s length.

| Published by Image

Winter Soldier #1 is an interesting start to this new mini from Kyle Higgins, Rod Reis, and Clayton Cowles. They set up Bucky as a kind of extraction agent in a new plan to pull crooked cops in over their heads, Hydra agents looking to get out, and the like out of their situations and give them a second chance with a “normal life”. It’s certainly a different premise. The art from Reis is gorgeous, as usual, channelling some of his best Bill Sienkiewicz influence.

| Published by Marvel

The Wrong Earth #4 continues its very interesting exploration of these two vastly different worlds representing two ends of comics culture, showing just how ill prepared the two forms of Dragonfly(man) are to their counterpart’s world. Great art from Jamal Igle, Juan Castro, and Andy Troy. I never get tired of how the art shifts when the story switches from Earth Alpha to Omega. This one’s rounded out with a back-up spotlighting the deadly (and somewhat careless) crime-fighting of Dragonfly and an assortment of prose. 

| Published by Ahoy

Other Highlights: Avengers Assemble: Time Will Tell, Barbarella Holiday Special #1, Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams #3, Black AF: Devil’s Dye #1, Border Town #4, Breakneck #1, Cinema Purgatorio #16, Curse Words #18, The Dreaming #4, Gasolina #13, Giant Days: Where Women Glow & Men Plunder #1, Infinity Wars: Infinity Warps #2, Iron Fist #3, Kick-Ass #10, Meanwhile #9, Moth & Whisper #4, Night’s Dominion: Season Three #5, Noble #14, Now #5, Power Rangers: Soul Dragon, Rise of the TMNT #3, Road of the Dead: Highway to Hell #2, Snap Flash Hustle #1, Spider-Geddon Handbook, Spider-Man/Deadpool #43, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Terra Incognita #5, Star Trek vs. Transformers #3, Star Wars #58, Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #3, Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion #3, Unnatural #5, We Are Danger #4, Welcome to Wanderland #3, Wizard Beach #1

Recommended Collections: Black - Volume 1, Chronicles of Hate, Dark Ark - Volume 2, Doctor Strange - Volume 1: Across the Universe Galaktikon - Volume 1, Goldfish, Lumberjanes - Volume 10, The October Faction - Volume 5: Supernatural Dreams, Paper Girls - Volume 5, Paradiso - Volume 2: Dark Dwellers, Rick & Morty - Volume 8, Star Wars: Poe Dameron - Volume 5: Spark Fire, Warship Jolly Roger - Volume 2: Revenge, Wayward - Volume 6: Bound to Fate, Yellow Blue Gray & White Omnibus

d. emerson eddy asks himself regularly, “How did I get here?” This is not his beautiful house. This is not his beautiful wife.