#and i also want dcs special costume...

[solidwater05]

Thanks crk for a free legendary 10 pull but also fuck you crk for not giving me Moonlight in over 200 pulls

[agent371]

This post is talking about the designs (and the designs only, I haven't read anything from the authors and dont even know who they are so this is design based only) released for the new Damian Wayne comic - The Boy Wonder. I will be heavily critical and btching about these, but please tell me your thoughts as well. After Damian, the others are under the cut. Please read because it's important.

Damian's design is actually really good and the best one, which is probably good since this is a comic about him. And I love how he's not whitewashed, which is something that happens way too much in comics.

Now, to Nightwing, his design is okay for a Nightwing design, but he just looks off in this style. I think if they tried to stylise him more, it could look a lot cooler. So I think he's just got wasted potential. Also, he's probably whitewashed as well to make damian more special as the "only" POC in the family (probly why Cass, Duke, Luke, and Luicus aren't here as well).

Babs is next, and this is the main reason I made this post. They abled her. DC authors stop abling disabled characters, please, for the love of me, I can't stand it. She can be disabled and still be relevant in the plot. I swear the only reason authors do this is because they don't know how to write disabled characters. If they need a Batgirl, use Steph or Cass because they are more than capable of doing it. I know they aren't as iconic as Babs, but move on DC. She's so much more interesting as Oracle.

Batman, I'm not a fan of his big blocky design. I just don't like it. He also looks really irrelevant and giving this is a comic about Robin (his son!) I think he should be relevant or look like he isn't a background character who just grunts, like for the design it looks like he doesn't talk. Don't like it.

Jason now, I actually love his Red Hood costume it looks sick, and the R on the chest *chefs kiss*. But his robin outfit is too gritty, and from that, I can tell he's going to be mischaracterised as the "angry Robin," so Hood looks cool, but that's all it is, his looks.

Tim. There is so much to say, omg. Where is his hero outfit! Everyone else got them. Why didn't he? You can actually see RR in the preview, so why wasn't that design put here? Why is it just Tim? And why does kid Tim look homless you know he grew up rich, before and after his adoption sure he has a style but his cloths wouldn't be friad he'd still look sleek and scruff not on the verge of his cloths falling off his back. For this, I can tell he'll also be mischaracterised as just like Jason since this is a Damian comic they are doing to do him so dirty. :( Sad day for a 90's Tim Drake fan (like every day, tbh save my guy). His RR design also has a shitty mask, but other than that, it seems fine, I like the wings/cape for it that looks pretty cool.

Alfred is a stereotypical old man. He's got no individuality what so ever and will proble be in one panel, say something sarcastic, and never show up again.

Ra's is okay. That's all.

Talia doesn't even look like herself . If you showed me her design with no context, I would not know who she is.

Carrie. Why is she here? Like honestly, why? There are better characters to include in a comic like this, like Steph or Cass or Duke or Helana. They would all be better chooses than Carrie. I'm not the biggest Damian fan, but ofter, Damian fans have been wanting him and Huntress as in a comic for a bit. I do like her design, but I just don't get why she's here. (I'm not including her image because of the limit bit is on my previous repost)

[zahri-melitor]

What's the Williamson thing? I don't think I've read much of his work

This is not exclusive to Williamson in any way, but he's part of it.

There are a bunch of DC writers who have a decided tendency to place more emphasis on biological relationships than adoptive ones. Williamson's a known example.

This affects variously families differently. Flashfam are less affected because they're almost all actual interrelated family members, however it's particularly noticeable in the writing of Bat, Super and Arrow titles.

(Aquafam is its own special case because 'biological v adoptive v foster' dramas extend back to the Bronze Age. Fortunately nobody seems to have let these writers near the Marvelfam/Shazamily much)

But essentially, it shows up as a tendency to define Damian Wayne, Jon Kent, Connor Hawke and Emiko Queen specifically by their biological relationships to Bruce, Clark and Ollie, and minimising the importance of adoptive bonds.

This is where you'll see things like Dick Grayson referred to as "Bruce's ward" in a title published in the 2020s, or Dick mention Bruce to Damian as "your father" (not ours), or have Ollie thinking about "my son Connor and my former sidekick Roy", or describing Roy as "like a son", or suggestions that there wasn't a Super Family before Jon arrived and that obviously the only possible Superman replacement for Clark is Jon, and so on.

It's this insidious "adoptive relationships and foster relationships are great but this here is your own flesh and blood, your biological child, and that is something that has its own special importance above and beyond any child you have chosen to look after". Which is something that some people do think and struggle with in blended families! But which gets really noticeable when it's prioritised in properties that were originally about families of choice.

Because we're talking about Joshua Williamson, and I was referring to his writing of Damian in particular:

It's having Alfred say to Damian “Bruce would have wanted you to be Robin” and claiming that is a scene that happened during Batman R.I.P., even though Tim was very much still Bruce's Robin at the time, had been promised by Bruce that he could be Robin as long as he wanted to be, and was literally in costume as Robin trying to hold the city together and track down and imprison Hush with Dick.

It's the attitude that Damian was entitled to be Robin because he was Bruce's son, and being Robin is a marker of being Bruce's Blood Son, whether or not Damian is actually doing the job of Robin.

It's scenes of Bruce and Damian going "Father and son. Batman and Robin. We don't need anyone else" even as Tim is currently also Robin and a very important thread of Bat family storytelling for the last 30 years is that yes, actually Bruce does need his family, he does need more than one single connection, the network is important at keeping him grounded and sane and able to do the job.

It's just...sigh. Joshua Williamson at it again.

[kryptonbabe]

"Your brother really wanted to be Batman didn't he"

From Stargirl: the lost children #2 (2023) by Geoff Johns and Todd Nauck

We all know Green Arrow started as a rip-off Batman, but sometimes I feel like this treatment he gets is kind of unfair, many characters started "ripping-off" something in a way (especially cross publishers), so ok Ollie had a whole insane rogue gallery and gadgets much like Batman, but he became something else with time, however there's always a joke like this one once in a while, I'm not a die hard fan of Ollie, it just occurred to me, I actually like the fact that he has the crazy gadgets and an Arrow cave

Arrow cave - there's so much to unpack here

First: who is the artist Ollie is paying for all those life-size dolls of his allies and foes? Is this the same artist who made Superman's mannequin room full of Lois Lanes? Is there a very rich artist in the DC universe specialized in creating life-size dolls for superheros?

Also: why are there some ethnic variations of Green Arrow's costumes on the background? When was the sombrero costume used? And when will we be seeing Ollie wearing that animal print bodysuit? Questions I need answers for DC

[yakopi]

MAWS and Batman

I have been finally watching My Adventures with Superman and I love it. It really hits that fundemental idea that Clark Kent is someone who genuinely wants to help out of the goodness of his heart. Just a home town boy raised with morals who thinks he is just like any other man even with his many powers.

When watching, however, anybody with some knowledge of the DC would notice the references to Gotham/Batman.

So I went snooping and found out that the showrunner already said that the Batman will never appear, so no twink Batman in the future.

That is sad, because I like the Batman franchise, however I also think that in a time where everything superhero related has to connect to a bigger shared continuum, sometimes just keeping focused on one franchise and with maybe some references that could come handy in a crossover movie/special is also fine.

However, that does not mean that we not allowed to make up our own ideas how Batman in the MAWS could have been.

Personally I am of the opinion that Batman would not be as yassified as he could have been, if only to provide contrast to the Batfamily's biggest twink that nobody can twink against: Nightwing.

So I would make Batman a slightly tired, mid-thirty-ish guy who already has adopted several children, with his oldest being Nightwing who is at most in his early twenties at.

And if the Superfriends ever go to Gotham, they would primarily deal with Nightwing and sometimes the other kids he is in charge of that day bc Batman is doing other things in the background.

Like going to a ballet recital for his daughter. Or going to buy a Wonder Woman costume to his son. Or trying to parent his son out of a caffeine addiction. Or buying his son ANOTHER pet. Or getting some new processors for his family friend. Or being threatened with violence by his cousin if he did not take a nap. Or being threatened with with violence by his date if he would stand her up again. Or having his high tech suit stolen and getting it back (cue a scene where Batman in a old costume that has those outside underwear designs and bright yellow colours chasing what is clearly two children in a more modern Batman suit.) etc.

And from long time crimefighting family Clark can learn about delegating responsibilities, a healthy work-life balance and much more that they have learned through trial and error.

Have a rough idea how Nightwing (and Batman) would look like in my mind.

Anyways, Batman in MAWS could have been neat, but I suppose I will have to take my more light-hearted Batfam shenanigans from the Webtoon instead.

Have a nice day, and if you have not seen My Adventures with Superman or Batman: Way and/or read Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, please do. They are great.

[tumblingxelian]

Ya know how stuff like My Hero Academia does the whole "Being a super hero is a job" thing, while DC/Marvel have it be more of a "Its tacitly endorsed by the government" thing.

I kind of want to see a setting that does something different, or technically two settings that could be merged into one if so desired but could work best separately.

1: Heroes are actually vigilantes, The government is not just letting random people in costumes zip around solving crime. At most they might try and deal with them quietly if they become popular or create their own counter heroes. Said stories would likely involve tackling more than street crime or other supers.

Note: One could also do a bit of a deconstruction on the traditional hero set ups. IE, would the police & a billionaire really collaborate if they weren't rather alike. So the real hero is someone trying to knock both off their pedestals.

2: Hero School is Actually Power School The basic idea here is simple, The schools do not exist to churn out super heroes, they exist to teach people how to control their powers and find a productive niche for them in society.

There might be specialized task forces who fight those with super powers who do crime. But generally "Water Woman" is putting out apartment fires or help corral flood waters rather than fighting bank robbers or hanging out in the Hall of Justice.

Note: Again, this could lend itself to deconstruction with 'hero' celebrities' or the schools existing to funnel certain people into stuff like the military and so on. & could still have rogue heroes as well.

[rainedragon]

Mini Lolita Fashion History Lesson: MILK

Today, MILK is generally known as an 'otome' or 'girly' brand, and many of their modern items don't look like what modern lolita think of as lolita.

A recent MILK collection However, in the late 80s and early 90s, MILK was considered to be one of the quintessential Lolita brands.

1990s lolita wearing MILK In a 1994 zipper interview about the history of lolita fashion the brand representative for MILK states "I think what is now called lolita fashion is the fashion that milk has been making for a long time."

MILK was founded in 1970 by Hitomi Okawa (大川ひとみ). When Hitomi Okawa started as a designer there were not many DC brands yet and ready to wear fashion was really just starting to become more widespread in Japan. Okawa attended an art university in Kyoto because of a love of drawing that started in elementary school. She used to draw illustrations of girls and make things like paper dolls. At the age of 11, she drew many pictures of the same clothes and changed the patterns (polka dots, checks, flowers). She grew up the daughter of a doctor, in an affluent home where her mother would read magazines like Harper's Bazaar with 1950s and 1960s American fashion. She also looked at American fashion catalogs as a child, and cites this study of clothing in magazines and catalogs as her earliest sort of "studying" of fashion. 

50s/60s Harper's Bazaar In addition to drawing inspiration from the 50s & 60s Harper's Bazaar & American clothing catalogs, she also drew inspiration from military uniforms and how they have custom buttons and custom fabric and details like that, as well as current trends in London and Tokyo as the brand continued to develop. When she started however, she says that she was the only one making this sort of cute girly clothing in Japan and she felt like she had to make it because no one else was making what she wanted to wear.

50s/60s Harper's Bazaar

After graduating from Seian College of Art and Design, Department of Design, she started MILK in Harajuku. She wanted to start in the coolest place possible, so she decided on Central Apartment.

MILK Shop Front in the 70s, Central Apartment

She had come to Harajuku when she was either in High School or her first year of University and had stood in the middle of the pedestrian bridge right off Harajuku station, and she looked down at Omotesando and thought "Here is the coolest place, I want to be here!", and that's why she chose that location. The Bridge doesn't exist any more, it was torn down in 2011. She wasn't aware at the time that Central Apartment was a popular place for creators, she just thought that street was nice and that Central Apartment was modern and cool. In a 2021 interview she confessed that she sometimes still goes up to the pedestrian bridge on the Yoyogi Park side and looks at Omotesando, and when she does, she feels the same way she did when she was 20 years old.

Central Apartment (原宿セントラルアパート) was initially an apartment complex built in Harajuku in 1958 at the intersection of Meiji-dori. It was initially built for special international travelers like US military personnel. In the mid 1960s/early 1970s, the lower floors were converted into stores with offices in the upper apartment floors.

The Coffee shop Leon on the first floor was a popular spot with creative people. There were also shops like Mademoiselle Nonnon launched by designer Taro Aramaki which sold French style clothing and lots of horizontal stripes. Mademoiselle Nonnon is considered to be the source of the border (horizontal stripe) trend in Japan.

Initially, "MILK", was expensive and unrealistic for everyday wear, so it was mainly used as a stage costume for idols, however, people started wearing Milk as everyday clothing as time went on.

MILK also experimented with a Bridal line in the 70s as well.

While their runway looks were generally a bit more loud than the way the pieces would have been worn in real life, you can see some prairie revival influence their early 70s items as well as some silhouettes in the '76 collection that are starting to look more lolita-esque.

Here are a few runway examples from the 1980s, note the border print of a carousel in the 1988 collection and the knee length ruffled skirt in the 1982 one.

By the early 1990s, MILK was heavily featured in coordinates worn by young women who considered themselves lolita in magazines like Cutie and Zipper, and was also advertising in those magazines.

1990-1992 Cutie advertisements for MILK

Early 1990s looks from MILK were fairly consistent with what was on offer from similar shops like PRETTY and Shirley Temple.

MILK Coordinates from Nene magazine, 1995

Speaking of Shirley Temple, the founder of Shirley Temple, Rei Yanagawa (柳川れい), worked as a designer for MILK before starting the Shirley Temple children's brand in 1974.

As time went on, lolita fashion started to diverge from the MILK style, while MILK followed their own design concept and look more at current trends in girly fashion. Today, some iconic MILK items like their heart purse are still frequently used in lolita fashion, however, it would be difficult to walk into MILK today and put together a coordinate that would read the same as one made from items at Angelic Pretty.

While goth and punk brands typically have no issue relating themselves to goth or punk fashion, brands popular with lolita have sometimes resisted self-describing themselves as lolita, most likely in an attempt to not alienate non lolita customers, due to lolita fashion having a mixed reputation. MILK, like many other Japanese brands, especially DC brands, maintains that they make MILK style, even though their influence on what we call lolita fashion today, is unmistakable.

Past Posts: Olive Girls

[tickletastic]

Okay, But Who Do You Main in Mario Kart?

Fandom: DC

Ship: JayRoy, Birdflash

Summary: Dick just wants to play Coin Runners, and Jason knows not to fight when Dick has that look on his face. Based on my belief that I could guess who someone mains in Mario Kart based on their personality, and this incredibly clever and big-brain anon. (ps, Dick would totally main Cat Peach)

“I fucking hate Coin Runners,” Jason sighs, watching his older brother choose the next game for them to play, “can we just do another race, dickhead?”

“No,” Dick whines, “I love Coin Runners and we haven’t even played once.”

“Yeah,” Jason groans, “because it sucks.” He looks towards Roy in hopes that he’ll choose a side, but is just met with an apathetic expression. 

“I’m staying out of this,” Roy shrugs, “but your team kind of sucks at mini games, Dick. Why don’t we go back to the races?”

“Hey!” Wally gasps, sending a scandalized look in Roy’s direction, “half of our team sucks, that’s an important distinction.” 

Dick’s jaw drops, pausing his character selection to gape at his boyfriend. “It’s not my fault you decided to take the opportunity to try out new characters!”

“Well it was either choose a new character and have an excuse for losing, or have to admit that my boyfriend absolutely sucks at Mario Kart!” Wally exclaims, gesturing vaguely towards the screen. 

Just as they fall into a rhythm of back-and-forth bickering, the front door opens down the hall, the chattering of Steph, Mia, Cass, and Donna floating through the foyer. Quick, quiet footsteps dash towards the living room, and Steph pokes her head in, looking warily towards the couch. “We brought Dunkin.”

“Fuck yes,” Jason exclaims, rising from the couch to grab a coffee, Roy trailing behind. 

Wally and Dick stay on the couch, customizing their cars as they wait for Roy and Jason, that is, until Donna’s head is suddenly popping into the room, “doughnuts too!” They’re in the kitchen, quite literally, in the blink of an eye, raiding the box of doughnuts while Mia, Cass, and Jason talk about what they’ve been reading. Mia is only interested in talking about Tennessee Williams, ‘going through a phase’ as Roy describes it, and Cass divulges that she’s been in a reading slump. Jason could only suggest Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the only book he’s read in the last two weeks, courtesy of a special request from Lian. 

Dick and Wally get wrapped up talking to Donna about some off-world issue that Diana, Clark, and Hal had been tending to, and whether Dick should bring back the discowing costume. The opinion is a hard, resounding no, but Dick still argues for giving it a new life, now that they’re in a 70s resurgence. By the time Wally and Dick return to the living room, Jason and Roy have already resettled, Cass and Mia also now in the room, sitting on one of the far couches while contemplating joining the game. 

When Dick finally sits on the couch, he notices that the game has been changed; Coin Runners was ended prematurely, and Jason and Roy are in the character selection for a 200cc race. They have already chosen their characters, Wario and Dry Bones, and are waiting for Dick and Wally to select their own. Dick glares Jason’s way, ignoring the impatience on his younger brother’s face.

“Just choose Cat Peach so we can play already,” Jason chides, jokingly grabbing for Dick’s controller on the coffee table. Dick intercepts him, attempting to shoo him away by poking him in the ribs. Jason shies away with a grunt, quickly recoiling out of reach. When he’s upright and no longer as vulnerable, he locks eyes with Dick, eyes squinted. 

Dick grins back, mischievous and lightly malicious, quite Chesire cat. Jason knows exactly what the look means, and before Dick can even move a finger he’s catapulting himself over the back of the couch, making a mad dash down the hall. “Oh fuck no.”

Dick makes chase, giggling maniacally and frantically as he follows Jason’s loud footsteps out of the living room. 

“Leave me the fuck alone!” Jason yells as he’s backed into a corner, seriously considering whether it’s worth it to scale the wall next to the stairs to get to the second floor. He decides that it is, throwing himself as high as he can get, hoping to grab onto the railing. He falls back down with a thud when Dick grabs him around the ankle, tackling him to the ground. “Fucking ow, dickhead.”

“This is all on you, Jaybird. We could’ve just played Coin Runners,” Dick teases, trying to grab Jason’s wrists as Jason bucks wildly. “Hey, Wally?” Dick calls down the hall, back towards the living room. 

“Yeah, babe?” Wally responds.

“I need your help!”

Wally is next to him before he even finishes the sentence, grinning down at Jason and Dick grappling. Jason grunts when Dick manages to gain the upperhand for a moment, stradling Jason, and Dick is quick to tell Wally to grab Jason’s hands. 

“Fuck, no, West, I will kill you,” Jason threatens with a glare. He considers, for a fraction of a second, calling Roy, but that would be admitting defeat. He continues to fight until Wally shoots a slowly vibrating finger towards Jason’s ribs, Jason squealing and tensing enough for Wally to scoop both wrists into his hands. “You’re so dead, you’re not living to see tomorrow, West.”

Wally pales, but plays it cool, “you know, I’m not too worried. You don’t look all too threatening right now.”

“I promise, it will be slow and-” Jason clamps his mouth shut, biting hard on his bottom lip. Dick had brought his hands up to dig into Jason’s sides, going from slow, teasing circles to spidering in with his fingertips, switching at random intervals. 

“C’mon, Jaybird, I know you wanna giggle. I see the smile peeking out,” Dick teases with that disgustingly endeared voice he does when he’s pulling the Big Brother card. 

Just as Jason gets used to Dick’s maddening pattern, Dick reaches a hand back and squeezes Jason’s hip, and Jason snorts loud enough to be heard all the way down the hall, the dam finally breaking. 

“You forget,” Dick grins, “I am your older brother, I know exactly how to get you to break.”

“Fuc- fuhuhucking- no,” Jason cackles, throwing his head back with another snort when Dick continues to squeeze. He makes a show of pulling at his arms, but Wally can tell its nowhere close to Jason’s full strength, something Dick knows all too well. 

When he’s satisfied with how many snorts he’s produced from Jason, and satisfied with Jason’s embarrassment about his uncontrollable snorting, Dick’s fingers move to Jason’s stomach, pinching the skin on both sides of his belly button. Jason squeals, bucking up and down as he starts to giggle, uncontrollably. Jason would have taken this to his grave if it weren’t for Dick, if it weren’t for his older brother analytically conjuring the most embarrassing reactions he can from him. 

“You know, if I didn’t value my life, I would say that this is almost cute,” Wally chirps, and Jason squeals out a string of curses and threats. Wally thinks he can make out something about time travel, and something about Barry and space, but it’s not as scary when Jason is red in the face, giggling uncontrollably as his older brother tickles his tummy. 

When Jason feels his shirt move up, seeing the evil glint in Dick’s eyes, he absolutely screams, bucking as hard as he can, desperately squirming to get away from his brother’s rapidly descending face. “Dihihick, no! Yohou’re so dead! I sw-” Jason cuts himself off with a screech, trying to melt into the floor to get his stomach away from Dick’s lips. Dick just laughs along, giving him a few more before relenting. 

“I’m not done just yet,” Dick teases, “one more spot, Jaybird.” Dick looks up from his brother for a minute and notices Roy leaning against the wall, trying to hide his endeared grin at the state his boyfriend is in on the ground. Dick starts to rub soft, ticklish circles under Jason’s belly button, grinning when his brother starts to giggle again. “Oh look, we even have an audience.”

Jason hadn’t realized his eyes had been screwed shut, but he opens them quickly, looking up at Roy, mortified. “Dihihick, you’re going to die.”

“Well, yeah, we all are,” Dick says in a sing-song tone, “but you first.” With that, his fingers dart up to Jason’s armpits, and his younger brother shrieks, trying to jacknife away from too all-too-knowing fingers. “Good to know this is still your worst spot!” 

Jason tries to dispute it, tries to continue to threaten his brother, but it all tickles so much, and his body feels like a live wire. Something about Dick tickling him always made it so much worse, it made everything tickle so much more, and he always felt completely helpless up against Dick’s Big Brother Skills™ and Big Brother Tactics™. 

Wally suddenly lets go of Jason’s hands, and Jason manages to wrestle Dick away from him, rolling onto his stomach and giggling into his arms. 

“You broke my boyfriend, Dickie,” Roy says, jokingly upset. 

“Nah, he’s just fine,” Dick waves off with a grin, “he’ll sit there and giggle for a few minutes, and blush for the rest of the day, but he’ll survive.” 

Jason groans, something so incredibly embarrassing about how Dick cannot only precisely predict Jason’s reactions, but also the aftermath of his attacks. He tries to sit up, but just continues to giggle, proving Dick’s point as he brings his hands up to cover his face. 

Dick ruffles Jason’s hair, standing next to Wally, “hurry up, we’re playing Coin Runners.”

Jason just groans, flipping him off as Dick and Wally walk back towards the living room. Roy moves closer to Jason, kneeling down so he can see his face. He puts a single finger under his chin and leans in, placing a kiss just on the corner of Jason’s mouth. “That was really cute.”

Jason’s blush grows hotter, glaring at Roy. “Don’t think you’re safe, West is the top of my hit-list, but you’re not too far down.”

[karaspal]

Hello! I saw that you're a Supergirl fan and I'm trying to read some of her books. Is Supergirl 2016 a good representation of the character?

not really, no. at least not the initial one. it gets good once marc andreyko starts writing it. then bad again once he is off the book.

the rebirth series took a lot of inspiration from cbs supergirl and imo the show got a lot better once it moved to cw. kara in the first 20 issues of the rebirth series is portrayed as less confident and more timid, and that's not really how she is. the comics also took a lot of its elements from the show, even if it didn't make sense to do that. i love and adore the supergirl show and kara in it, yet i hate the rebirth run, so even if you are a fan of cw!kara, i wouldn't recommend the run.

but fear not, i'll give you some recs. here is a full reading order if you want to read everything she's been in. if not, here is a smaller reading guide:

supergirl (2011) is a great start. it has some meh stuff, like kara's costume, which was not great, but you get used to it. i'd recommend the run as a whole (minus the boring crossovers), but if you don't want to read it all, the first arc with the world killers (#1 - 7), red daughter of krypton (#28 - 33, but mind you, it crosses over with "red lanterns". reading order for the full story you can find in the link i gave above. just scroll a bit, it's under the 52 section) and crucible (#36 - 40) were the best arcs.

after that, i'd recommend jumping right to marc andreyko's run - supergirl (2016): #21 - 33. before that, you do need to read man of steel (2018) for context.

next comes supergirl: woman of tomorrow. it's the best supergirl story you can find and one of the best superhero stories in general.

despite how little pkj got to write kara during his time on action comics, i'd still recommend checking it out because he understands her character very well - action comics annual 2021 (a possible future for kara and the house of el); action comics (2016): #1044 - 1049 (back up stories); action comics (2016): #1051 - 1060 + annual 2023. mind you, she has a supporting role in this story, not a main one.

after that, she had a one-shot team-up with the martian manhunter action comics: doomsday special (2023) which was good.

she is currently a main character in the house of brainiac story and i like the way she is written there.

if you're willing to read comics from the previous era, the run sterling gates and jamal igle did is considered a classic. it's supergirl (2005): #34 - 59. it does, however, cross over a lot with the new krypton arc that was happening at the time. full reading order you can find in the reading guide i linked.

and if you're willing to go pre-crisis, she had two solo runs. one was in 1974 - supergirl (1974), and the other - 1982 - supergirl (1982). she also had stories in various dc comics. an era i absolutely love is when she was an actress in new york - the superman family (1974): 208 - 222.

and comics you should stay away from, in my opinion - supergirl: being super and last year's supergirl special #1. both are written by mariko tamaki and i just don't vibe with her kara. another one is kara's first appearances post-crsis. anything kara written by joe kelly and jeph loeb is a big no-no.

anyways, sorry for the long answer lol. happy reading.

[dc-fanfic-sideblog]

So… I don’t really have an update on the costume designer reader, just some more little facts because I can’t help myself. None of this is in any sort of order. I’m treating Reader like a character for now in this post, i will eventually start to use “you” in place of “she/her/reader”

I’ve never really written x reader fanfiction before, so I’ll try my best to make it as inclusive as I can (while being a little self indulgent as a treat)

If y’all have any questions or maybe even requests then please send in an ask!! I want to practice writing!

Various DC characters x fem!reader

Reader is going to Gotham University on a full ride scholarship, but she doesn’t live in the dorms (if the Uni even has dorms because i can’t find any information on it) she has a shitty little apartment, basically a studio apartment because they’re a collage kid and can’t afford shit.

Every so often some small time villain will find their way onto the roof of their apartment building and reader is just chilling outside and she’ll ask “yo… do you have a costume yet?” And she may or may not design something for them or give criticism on whatever they’re already wearing

She asks Superman why he wears tights lol

SPEAKING OF SUPERMAN, i believe when reader goes off to Metropolis, Lois is all over her in like a mother hen kinda way. Giving tips on how to interview people, about asking good questions and keeping their interest

Clark is also there but after reader meets Superman she catches on almost immediately. Because hello, he’s just wearing glasses and fixing up his hair differently, what are the drinking in Metropolis?? (I’m heavily basing this Superman after the 1978 one because he’s so silly and pretty)

Batman/Bruce Wayne definitely has his dad instincts kicking in as soon as he hears about some college kid wanting to talk to VILLAINS that are in ARKHAM going to Gotham University on HIS FULL TERM SCHOLARSHIP.

Damien meets reader with Batman supervising him to make sure he’s not overly rude to reader, and Damien (as Robin) starts asking stuff like “why are you interviewing villains? Frankly that’s stupid and dangerous” and Bruce just scruffs him like a kitten and says goodbye lol

At some point I think Bruce meets reader as Bruce Wayne after one of her classes to be like “hey I’m the one giving you money so you can go to college. I heard about you talking to evil people and while I think that’s dangerous here’s a special ID to get into Arkham so you don’t get kidnapped by random villains on the street. Talk to these people while being supervised please”

His kids make the joke that he’s ready to adopt another kid, but he denies them just to let them freak out (he not gonna but he thinks it’s funny to mess with them like that every once in a while)

Jason follows reader as Red Hood when they’re going to Arkham for the first few months. The visits aren’t often because of classes and work, but they’re at least once a week.

Reader/you work as a work study for the theatre department, meaning reader has access to a lot of different materials and good strong sewing machines. There’s a pretty good sewing machine in the apartment but the university ones can handle thicker materials and can run for a lot longer

I’m kinda debating on including Morpheus/the Sandman just for funsies because I want to write him interacting with a slightly unhinged college student

Anyways that’s it for now, sorry I abandoned this account for so long lol but I’m back! (We’ll see how long that’ll last)

[allovesthings]

Donna and Dick comic recs

@tired-teddybear asked me to do one and here it is:

New Teen titans (1980):

This was my first introduction to theirs friendship.

Specifically Issue 14: where Dick is the first (and only) to realize that Donna is not okay after seperating for a few days.

Issue 16: which is Kory centric but Donna and Dick spent almost the entire comic together investigating.

Issue 21: This is the arc that introduce Brother blood and I would suggest also reading 22, it's also very good (although it is not really Donna and Dick centric just Dick centric). The arc is really good in general

Issue 29: Donna tries to talk to Dick and have a heart to heart, It's cute but also Dick is being stubborn and punishing himself but we love drama and trauma so (it's also a brother blood thing). Also I think Roy makes his first appearance in the New titans run and it's fun.

Issue 38: my beloved or Who is Donna Troy ? This one is probably one of the best Donna and Dick issue out there, . it is centered around Dick using his detective skills to figure out who Donna's family are. It's a fun mystery but the center of it all is just theirs friendship and this is is THE issue I would recommend for Dick and Donna's friendship.

Tale of new Titans:

Issue 42: The beginning of the Judas contract (I mean honestly the whole arc is just really good in general), they have some really cute moments.

Issue 50: sigh...the wedding. On one hand, I just don't like who she is getting married to but it's worth it for the Dick and Donna moments, he is the one to walk her down the aisle <3. It's very good.

New teen titans vol 2:

Issues 18-19: if you want angst and drama, that's the one. They are fighting on this one.It's sad but you know, we love angst and drama.

Issue 32: This is genuinely one of my favorite. The titans are having fun. It's fun and I love it (also there is a murder mystery..sort of but I don't care, it's so fun)

Issue 36: One hand you've got the weird Raven doesn't understand her feeling and her crush on Dick is about to spill on him due to powers, On the other , Donna and Dick are having fun together training at the begining of the issue and Dick almost dies.

Wonder Woman vol 2 (1987): issue 164-168 Gods of Gotham:

Honestly the entire arc is fun if you want to see some of the Gotham villain being godified and a team up between the Batfam and the Wonderfam of the time.

But especially issues 165/167/168. Dick and Donna come together and just stay together almost the entire time and it's just fun.

JLA/Titans:

Okay listen, this is the perfect story if you want to understand the difference the JLA and the titans. It's great for both of them

Issue 3: It's so sad yet so good. Poor Donna.

Titans (1999):

There are some things around original Titans happening in this run that I didn't like but I think this is one of the best comic if you want to see the relationship between all of the fab five (also not Donna and Dick related but Roy is just so great in this, I love him so much).

Issue 15 (my beloved): The Fab five are stuck on an island and it's great for both the entire group and for Donna not being able to resist meeting a certain someone of Dick's past (It's great, I love it so much).

Issue 25: Who is Troia: Donna centric with time travel shenanigans. Older Dick taking the time to reminds Donna of her strength. We love to see it. 10 Out of 10.

(honorable mention:11,28-29 where the titans sort of becomes guardians to a bunch a superpowered children).

Titans secret files (2): The titans decided to show up in Bludhaven and make fun of Dick and in the middle of that, both of them get a heart to heart and it's great (plus a hug <3 )

Batman Chronicle 7:

Since it's several stories, the Dick and Donna one start at page 21. They are hanging out, out of costume, they are great and we get another hug.

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation day and Dc special: the return of Donna Troy:

Those two should probably be read together. What happens to Donna in the end of Graduation Day really mark the beginning of a terrible period of time for Dick both because of that (see Outsiders) and for other reasons (Devin Grayson) the dc special is an important sequel to that. However, I will say,in my opinion, if you are reading for Dick and Donna the return of Donna Troy might be a bit of a disappointment because while the two other of Donna's relationships that were emphasized in Graduation Days (Cassie and Roy) were followed through, I felt like Dick was a bit relegated back to the group.

Titans (2008):

I haven't read it because it seems to be a bit of a..mess and Dick leave 10 issues in. I know there are some Donna and Dick moments though ?

JLA v2:

Donna and Dick are co-leading the Justice League as Batman and Troia. It's great, they are great and really competent and I kinda love it.

Issue 41: Donna meets Damian with Dick. It's so fun, she is so amused, I love it.

Issue 60: The end of that era. It's a good goodbye that isn't a goodbye because it's Donna and Dick (but also it is a goodbye, this is right before New 52 when Donna doesn't exist for a long time and Dick has no friends)

Titans hunt:

reuniting of the fab five, Bumblebee and Lilith. They are paired together with Garth from beginning to end and are mostly fighting side by side. It's great

Titans rebirth (2016):

I actually didn't like the run and had to stop when the team is dismantled for the first time by the Justice League. It feels too impersonal for the Titans. That said: There are 2 issues that are good:

Titans Annual 1: Which is another compare and contrast between the Titans and the Justice League done well (it isn't Donna and Dick centric but it's good and I thought I would still mention it)

The Titans special: It has a really sweet Donna and Dick moment as he is trying to recruit her into a new Titan run (that said they made Donna says that Wally was her best friend to Dick's face and I'm not sure I'll ever forgive it for that)

Batman/Superman: World Finest:

honestly I just recommend this run in general, it's the only one I'm currently following and the arc is great but it's not really Donna and Dick centric, the Teen Titans are in it in issues 8 and Donna is worried about Dick and it's really great.

World Finest: Teen Titan (the spin off).

I'm a bit divised on that, I think it's fun and has a really good take on Batman's relationship with Dick. I like the foil between Dick and Roy but it feels a bit tone deaf when it comes to the case, also stop making Donna kiss one of the boy that isn't Roy on theirs team. I'm begging you. That said, Donna and Dick are kinda the confident of the other with Donna being the one who will calls out somone else if they go too far and Dick motherhenning when he learn what Donna has beeen doing.

Convergence: Teen Titans:

If you are mad about the ending of the New Titans (1989), then you are going to love that, Kori and Dick are married and the Titans have to protect theirs New York and Dick fucked up but also get to hold hand with Donna and that's a plus for me

(Also, please read convergence Titans just for the fix-it of it all even if Dick isn't in it.It's great, Roy got Lian back we love to see it)

I think I forgot some, if you have more, feel free to ad to this

[cuephrase]

What are some things introduced new52 to current day that you like and think are an overall net positive for batfam continuity? (As in, it's not uncommon for me to see fan things that mainly focus on post crisis/pre flashpoint stuff but still incorporate new comic aspects, such as slightly changed family dynamics/new developments, and it's interesting for me to find out what different people think is and isn't worth keeping from what got added after the reboot)

ooooh this is a fun question!!

i was going to say i haven't read that many n52 and onwards runs, and then i realized i have actually read most of the ones i want to, i just haven't read any batman/'tec/batgirl/or duke's runs yet. (i read like...half of We Are Robin, Joker War, and i've read batman from where zdarsky come in so like have also read Gotham War.) (might read Catwoman?? not the point.)

since we're sticking strictly to net positives, i'll include something that i like, even if i have criticisms of it, but i won't get into those criticisms so we can stay positive!! (future cue, so this is kind of a lie but i swear i didn't go overboard.) i'm going to include stuff as minor as like costumes bc why not. also nothing is going to be in order of like what i like the most to what i like the least, just fyi. also, probs not definitive, knowing me i will forget something lmao

New52 Era-

tim's red robin costume. that suit is *chef's kiss* imo. i love that he has wings. i...i don't know if i necessarily want it back rn bc i am sososososo in love with his current robin costume, but i do adore the n52 red robin suit

i personally like that they went ahead and made jason less villain, more anti-hero. i think him trying to reintegrate with the batfam creates some very compelling crises

dick as Agent 37!! which...okay, no criticisms nvm. michael janin's art tho >>> okay well actually maybe sometimes i wish this was like elseworlds/black label instead of mainline but

might be a bit of a reach, but i really enjoy the first handful of arcs in n52 b&r and the relationship dynamic they established for bruce and dami

i like that tim and jason are somewhat friendly. i think it makes sense. for a lot of reasons. this is a somewhat controversial opinion, which i understand. but this is where i stand

did i like anything else from this era specifically?????????

OH

DUKE!!!!!!! i loooooove him very happy he was added

Rebirth Era-

the outlaws, specifically jason's relationship with bizarro. (i enjoyed artemis a lot too!! tbh, haven't read these guys outside of this run tho so zero clue how accurate these portrayals are, so grain of salt?)

the return of dick's fingerstripes!!!!!!! best part of tom taylor's run /hj

TIM'S ROBIN COSTUME AHHHHHH. i'm sorry i love that suit way too much

love damian's current robin costume, although...does he have combat boots rn still? can't remember. if he doesn't, they should give those back

damian + jon's relationship, ik it gets obliterated by the stupid age up, but super sons is still very special to me

tim being bi!! now do kon dc you cowards

alfred's death. i refuse to elaborate. i could, but i shan't (this is not alfred hate tho i swear)

i'm forgetting something rn i know it

oh yeah, i do like tim being robin again. IK. IKKKK. no, i don't think he should be robin forever. no, i don't think dami is a bad robin/shouldn't be robin.

um...i liked dick getting shot in the head. the ric era is not how i would've wanted the aftermath but

i don't want to comment on anything super recent, but i do think there's stuff going on rn that could end up being net positives

the titans being reassembled. jury's out on their location but, i do like that they're back

i'm not counting yj because they're not doing anything with them rn, but they should ugh

i think...i think that's it? there could honestly be a lot more that i'm forgetting. i hope this was interesting!! if there's anything i didn't mention that you're curious about, or something i did mention that you'd like a more in-depth answer about, please feel free to ask!! i'm curious what you consider net positives anon, you should shareeee

[popculturebuffet]

Batmarch: The Secret Origin of Batman's Trophys (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to Batmarch, or celebrations of all things that go bump in the dark knight

Today we've got a special treat... and i'm not just talking the nice art Kev had comissioned! Looks really good and I really appcirated it. Thank you KEv and thank you Alan Patreon. It was a nice suprise gift.

As for what this is about, this was a fantastic idea Kev cooked up: the batcave is one of the coolest hero bases in all of fiction. The layout is never 100% consitant across media but your usually guaranteed a batmobile, a big ass computer at the center, water falls, and over time a display for various costumes from past sidekicks, alternate outfits etc.

What really spruces the place up are three distinct decorations that we almost always see in the comics and ocasionally in other media, if not live action since these bitches would be expensive to make: A giant dinosaur, a big ole penny, and a giant playing card of a joker. These three are staples of the bat cave, to the point when the original was caved in during the earthquakes that ravaged gotham in the build up to no man's land, Bruce made a point of fishing them out for the new cave he built after that traumatic year.

Yet most of us.... have no idea where he got these wonderful toys. Even I didn't. The Joker Card comes from an obvious grinning source, but what CASE did it come from? Where did he get that dinosaur? What was someone using that giant Penny for? It's a question i've asked once or twice but never looked into. Kevin did though, and while the through and lovely DC wiki helped him find each one, he went the extra mile, asking for a review. And I was entirely on board with this comission as I just.. never had those answers and I doubt i'm the only one whose wondered what the context for these things were. So today we're looking at three disntinct golden age batman stories, at a time when goofy nonsense reigned supreme, logic was optional, and weird shit like this was just another day in the batcave. IN other words, this is going to be a LOT of fun so join me under the cut as we look at gambling themed death traps, penny obessed gangsters and batman being hunted by the most dangerous game: mechanical dinosaurs.

The Giant Joker Playing Card:

(from Batman #44)

I love these old titles, such flair and cheese. It's incredible.

Anyways this one starts because Joker decides to hit an off the books casnio after his win. Luckily for them, he just wants to play which feels entirely like a joker move: instead of robbing an easy target that can't call the cops and that the mafia presumibly running it would be stupid to retaliate on, he decides "fuck it let's try this whole gambling thing men, sounds like a hoot and a half".

And sure enough.. it goes really well. He spends what's implied to be the whole night just winning and winning until he cleans house. This being the joker this gambling bug can only end one way

I just.. love everything about this. Joker just had fun at a casnio and turned it into a death trap. It's such a brilliant setup.. and one that while nicely goofy, is also well done: it fits the joker's unpredictablity to just go a gamblin and it fits him just as much to turn a new hobby into a death trap. I also love Lewis' reaction calling it SUPERGAMBLING., like he's some gambling expert and most dangerous game shit is a type of gambling.. which given we're in the dc universe, you probably DO need a name for this kind of thing in the crime world.

So he set shte perfect trap: he has a random balding middle aged man tell the two he has info on a recent raidum theft, raidum a hospital badly needs. To save the presumed orphans about to die without eating their radium, Batman and Robin go to a sketchy island with one house perched on a hill

The World's Greatest Detective.. sees NOTHING wrong with this and goes ahead and gets caught in the most devious trap imaginable.

Several head injuries later, our heroes wake and joker reveals the radium theives, who he captured for this scheme but have kept the radium's location to themselves. This is by deisgn: the joker wants the two and their "radium screts" as the ante here, along with Robin to make sure Batman does this. Batman repedately states "I don't gamble' as if logic suddenly works on the clown man who set up a gambling death trap, so Joker reveals if Batman won't play his three supergambling games, he'll just kill the hostages. Batman reluctantly agrees,

Game 1 is super pinball.

But when Batman proves to be an expert at the snes Joker goes with plan b.. his giant pinball table of death. Sorry his giant SUPER pinball table of death.

As you can see the same joker face from the card is here and you see it all over his lable. it seemed to be Joker's logo back the. I love this whole setup and mostly show it not only because it' sdope but because those pins must've been what bumpers were. I also had no idea PInball used to be a gambling thing. Makes sense, it's just fun to find out.

The game goes well mostly though one of the guys nearly slams into a pin. Thankfully Robin is an expert gymnist and batman smartly saved laucnhing robin till the last minute and Dick's able to save the goon.

Game two is super rolling some dice, which apparently used to land on numbers. This yugioh style death game involves our bait being tied to polls on three of the numbers. If Batman guesses wrong, someone dies. Or maybe not since the board is pretty damn big. Not every death trap can be super murder pinball. Batman spots some mud on the dice though and correctly guesses they'll pivot. This is the weakest of the death traps here, a bit convolunted, not really guranteed to be as deadly. I know the chance of nothing happening is part of it.. but with pinball there's really almost no chance you won't hit the bumpers. Here it feels like pure luck or simple cheating that both dice flew at the joker.

Next game and the one that introduces our prop, though the dice apparently are also in the cave sometimes which I love. The game is a game of cards.. batman has to correctly guess which face matches the door Robin and the hostage goons are in or they'll choke to death on the deadly gas released inside.. and naturally he figures out it's the Joker card. It's too joker not to work.

Turns out though, naturally the joker isn't playing fair both having a final one on one game ofr him and Batman and having his goon go to get robin behind the joker card door... and Robin dispatches him hilaroiusly and awesomely

With that the hostages are free and the final death game begins. A giant super roulette wheel with both batman and joker getting in a slot. looser gets crushed alive. It's an awesome finale, and it fits joker to put himself at risk: after all he risks his life all the time why wouldn't he for such a fun gag?

Batman's able to get the wheel to turn fairly and then escape it, leading to a chase. THe Radium Theives agree to give themselves and the radium up but there's still the matter of the joker and we get a short but neat final chase as Joker uses the dice against the heroes then jumps off a cliff, gambling his life one last time.. and rightfully batman isn't betting on the joker having died.

Gamble With Doom is an excellent story. While the trophy we get out of it is only in it briefly the story itself is pure fun. It has some fun dated elements like Bruce's opinon gambling is EVILLLL and the old fashioned designs on the traps, but it's pure fun. The traps are clever, the tension palpable and the climax great. The gambling motif's really fit the joker and it adds up to an all time great joker story with a suprise impact. The Trophy Itslef. is barely in it but Robin DID break a guy's face with it so i'll say it was still cave worthy.

(From World's Finest #30)

The Penny Plunderer is a name I had heard but had no real context for. I assumed he was some goofy silver age villian with pennies for eyes who drove around chucking pennies at everyone.

I am an artiste.

Instead it's just a guy in a suit. He has the backstory of any good golden or silver age villian to justify his gimmick

I love.. everything about this backstory. It reads like if a writer was given the thought exercise "Make the pettiest batman villian origin you can find.". I mean other villians gimmicks make sense: Poison Ivy was a botonist, Mr Freeze had a horrible accident, the penguin was born looking like a penguin with a lot of money, the Joker fell into a vat of chemicals and came out a clwon, the riddler liked puzzles.

Here Joe just... got screwed over by pennies a lot. Even funnier is that the last one has nothing to do with pennies. Like.. even if it'd had nickels he'd still be arrested.

So Joe vows since pennies runied his life, he'l lbecome the penny! Sadly this does not mean him dressing up like a giant penny with a cane and top hat.. nad now I can't show you it that last drawing put me too far behind and... oh fuck it.

Instead he just wears a suit but makes his gimmick pennies. Commit to the bit man. I do get it as some golden age villians were just guy in a suit, even Joker and Penguin technically counts but one is a clown and the other is a rich penguin man. They have mor ethan just "suit and a vendetta against pennies that somehowturns into stockholm syndrome.

So the penny plunderer begins his reign of terror, setting up a penny arcade as a front, and cashing in a roll of pennies in the most diabolical scheme ever devised by man.

A true criminal mastermind.

Batman picks up on this pattern because it's what he does and finds his next case, a coin and stamp exibiton with a rare one cent stamp. It's here we meet the reason we're here: the giant penny!

Yeah to my shock the penny had NOTHING to do with the penny plunderer other than being at the site of one of his robberies. He prefered just.. chucking pennies at people.. which is awesome and a truly great tactic only topped by Batman's use of said giant penny

I adore the fact that this iconic artifact is there not because it was seized from the villians or a police options.. but because, presumibly, Bruce thought this penny he found was kick ass and bought it off it's actual owner.

Most of the theives escape but they find one willing to squeal. Unfortunatley he dies for his hubris

Yup bet you weren't expecting the penny guy to kill someone and to see his corpse weren't you but here you are. Also batman is apparently a cop now. George Lopez tried to warn us...

But we didn't listen! We didn't listen!

A fight breaks out at the gambling parlour and we get two of the best moments in batman history that much like the blue beetle film, ar ehighly underated.

I just.. I get the sense that is how batman ALWAYS plays pinball. Just judo kicks it every time even as bruce wayne. Both bruce wayne and batman have been banned from so many arcades.. often the same ones. Perks of having a secret identity. We then get coyne once again THROWING pennies at someone and it working. I don't know why he hasn't been brought back with the telkeentic ability to contorl pennies. Give him a copper helmet and a proper costume and oh dammit..

Then Joe knocks batman out iwth his one weakness: a roll of pennies. He's trapped them in the parlor for your standard batman death trap, having removed their belts and ripped out the phone lines as usual. He then throws them a few pennies when then prove to be a mistake as it's time for SCIENCE WITH DR. BATMAN, who uses one old penny, copper, and one new penny, zinc to make a battery. Good thing jimmy didn't wish it away THIS week.

The cops arrive to free one of hteir own and batman finds a clue once the parlor is cleared of gas. Turns out Coyne was catering a penny slot party for a rich billinoare's houseboat, and naturally their filled with gas. I swear it's always gas with these golden age villians. Get another knockout device fellas.

With that our final chase enses as Batman and robin chase Coyne and while he nearly bests them with a good game of 1940's donkey kong

He's foiled by his own gimmick: he has only pennies but the pay telephone.. dosen't.. take 5 seperate pennies for some reason? the hell? I get payphones not taking pennies once they went up to a quarter but come the fuck on 1940's payed telephones. he's foiled.. and sentenced to death.

Yes folks that's the cannoical till some lucky fellow brings him back fate of the penny plunderer: PUT TO DEATH.

This story is as you can tell nonsense that's only gotten more hilarious with the passage of time and I loved every page on it and on getting the panels for this review, I only found MORE hilaroius nonsense to laugh at. We have a story where a guy with a penny gimmick smacks batman with a roll of pennies, trips robin with more, kills a man without pennies, is foiled by pennies yet somehow dosen't actually use the giant penny that's the only reason people know he exists. It's beautiful bollocks and worth your time.

(From Batman #35)

As I hope you are, this issue had me hooked from the first panel: Batman vs dinosaurs being forced to fashion a bow and arrow for some reason. Yes... fuck. Yes. Also nice of bruce to eat Ollie's lunch.

Okay so this story starts, as many real life stories do, with a billionare having a zany idea; Mr. Hart is a man who puts on shows: ice follies, aqua carnival, 40's razzle dazzle type stuff. For his latest idea though he's going above and beyond: a DINOSAUR ISLAND. With mechancail dinosaurs and cavemen who throw giant sponges at you. Thankfully spongebob wasn't born yet but his great great grandpappys quarepants did the honors. Honorable old fool.

To ramp up the insanity, Mr Hart is inviting a club of big game hunters to eat mammoth steak with batman.

If that weren't enough, and in any other golden age story it might be... our heroes get CHALLENGED at dinner by one of the rich assholes. Yeah turns out rich assholes who hunt innocent animals for sport and eat reheated mammoth aren't the most stable indviduals and Mr. Breech scoofs at the fact Mr. Hart says Man is the most dangerous game. He's hunted man, they went down like cowards. COWARDS. He feels Batman couldn't hut a dinosaur without his gadgets, and certainly not his bare hands... even though as this issue with prove and has already shown early man had tools.

To prove his point he challenges batman to a fucking challenge: survive on Dinosaur Island: no utility belt, no vehicles. If the dinosaurs touch him he looses. Mr Breech will man the controls. Honestly i'm convinced Breech knew hart well enough to know he'd both agree to this for the publiclity and why he'd invite batman and robin and just wants to play iwth giant mechanical dinosaurs and also batman. Which granted if I were invited to this sort of thing i'd also want to chase batman with mechanical dinosaurs for fun, who wouldn't, so I totally get it and respect the game.

Hart is on board, offering 5000 to the winner's charity and Batman is like "Why the bat-fuck not. Let's go".

Now you might suspect Breech's real motive is trying to kill batman. I mean you have a setup where batman will be without his weapons, the plausable deniablity of a machine malfunction and a secluded island with 24 hours to kill the batman. And you'd shockingly be wrong. Breech really just wants to prove dinosaurs are the most dangerous game so when that Jurassic Park he's working on opens no one will object to him hunting them for sport.

But his plans are foiled by Chase, anothe rich knob who wants to kill batman and robin to, as he says later form a "crime combine". So he wants a bunch of middle aged guys drinking beers to yell at him for not training the joker on tackling well enough. I see.. well played.

So the game is afoot and our heroes take a bit to catch up, first brushing off a real rock among the sponge rocks as a mistake. Theis ends when a Triceratops to trismash them into a tree. Batman calls for a war council on a nearbye island but naturally THAT'S NO ISLAND

Batman fought a mechanical fucking seamonster. That.. that's cannon. To almost every batman timeline. God bless you Golden Age, god, bless, youuuu. Also i'd be stupid if I didn't say that Tally Ho, Batman! is one of the greatest phrases in batman history up there with "I Am the night" , "I'm batman" and "Something something joker's boner".

So now the games for their lives, Batman and Robin don't have to play fair and start fashioning bows, arrows and knives out of mechanical dinosaur bones. You know.. sometimes this job can be draining: 2-3 reviews a week, many a plan having to be delayed due to a review taking longer than expected.. but then you get a review where Batman and robin have to outrun a manical billinoare who hyjacked dinosaurs from a diffrnet billionare who was having a charity dinosaur hunt with batman and robin using a third billionare's dinosaur, while fashoining weapons from mechanical dinosaur corpses and fashion a kite from a mechanical ptreadon and remember why you love reviewing stuff so mucH: sharinng a good story with the world and finding a good one or two yourself while your at it. And thanks to Kev i've found three truly wonderful, truly bonkers batman stories, with this one being the easy winner. It's both a decent enough concept for the time and hilariously insane.

And I ddin't make up the kite thing: when, after a night of survivial, Robin brings up the batplane, Batman has an idea: since the flying dinosaurs are on a programmed pattren rather than directly controled, they can use them to make themselves a kite yor style.

So to win the day Batman has a plan: he uses himself as bait since Robin's the more agile of the two, and has robin CATAPULT HIMSELF into the air after chase, who is riding on t-rex back with an army of dinosaurs.. and how does he defeat chase' smighty dino army?

It's both genuinely clever and wonderfully bonkers: Robin defeats an evil billionare RIDING a mechanical t-rex.. with water balloons.

Also props to this story: in the previous two the trophy was impressive.. but it was taken from what felt like a minor point in the story: the card flip game was fun as was batman slammin ga door on a guy, but it's sandwitched between far more elaborate death traps, while the penny, again awesome, wasn't even something the penny plunderer used. Batman just bought it off some offscreen character to relive fond memoreies of crushign some crimianls alive with it. Here the main villian ROAD IN on the thing. Granted he still had to likely buy it off his actual owner, but this time at least a criminal actually used it as a murder weapon. I can see Batman wanting this thing for his cave.

Batman chases chase over the now still dinosaurs and punches the guy out. With this Batman's saved the day AND won the bet. 5000 for batmobiles for kids, donate your batmobile today!

As for chase...

With that our story and this trilogy comes to an end.. and as I said, it's great. check out all three of these issues their a lot of fun. Next time dc puts some up for sale I may have to get some 40's batman, this stuff is golden.

Thanks for reading

To conclude batman month: Wait'll you get a load of this

[heroesoath]

Realized that some people might not be familiar with my muses, and what they can do, so here's a cheat sheet for my mutant muses specifically. I can write about the non-mutants at a later date!

alex.

Alex has the mutant power to absorb energy, though more specifically radiation and shit from the cosmos like sunlight. His body stores this energy where he can later expel it in a blue or yellow colored plasma form in blasts, waves, and other means.

I personally think that when he stores too much energy his body can become overheated. It starts with a burning sensation in his hands and it spreads, it's why he constantly has to shoot plasma every so often. Alex has a long history of not being able to control his powers, the goofy original costume with the eggbeaters on the mask and the black spandex was created so he could control his powers more easily because they are dangerous! He can essentially be a walking atom bomb if he's not careful.

dani.

Dani's powers have evolved over time, but originally they were seen as the telepathic ability to create illusions based on people's greatest fears. They have since been expanded on so that she can create illusions based on anything, and they can become physical constructs. A popular illusion she can make are psionic arrows, since she's a gifted archer.

I want to point out that Dani's powers were originally VERY tropey, she's Cheyenne and Claremont literally said let's make her a literal Dreamcatcher. it's iffy and it needed to be addressed. Another tropey ability she has is her rapport with animals, but I now associate this more with her telepathic gifts rather than it being a separate thing.

Dani can read minds, but it's not something that's easy, she tends to stick to her illusion based powers and archery in combat.

jamie.

Jamie has the power to create duplicates of himself! Originally this was an extremely hard power to control, and like Alex, he had to wear a special suit to help keep control. Since those days however, Jamie has had the smart idea of sending his duplicates out into the world and doing things, whether it be attend college, medical school, law school, become an olympian, his duplicates have done a lot of things and Jamie would eventually find them and reabsorb them, retaining their knowledge and skills they have obtained. The ethics of his powers have been discussed not only in the comics, but by fans alike. It's an interesting question if Jamie's duplicates have autonomy since so many of them have different personalities ( all parts of Jamie's overall personality ).

When Jamie needs to fight, he'll just create a bunch of dupes, he's a one man army and there's something unsettling about seeing a clone army coming at you. Luckily for him though, Jamie tends to just use his powers for passive reasons, like when he is a detective or more recently a scientist on Krakoa.

jean.

Jean is a telepath and a telekinetic. I'm not going to get into her omega level status, she's extremely powerful and that's great and all, but people who focus on that aspect of her bore me to tears so I won't subject anyone to that either. She's good at what she does, she can move things with her mind, read people's thoughts, lots of shit with her brain.

Jean is also the host of the Phoenix Force, a cosmic being whose exact nature has flipped back and forth based on the writer, but it seems that they are moving back to the original intent of the force from Chris Claremont's brain. The Phoenix is Jean's power, and it's uniquely tied to her and her bloodline alone. She's the cosmic firebird of all creation and life, it's wild, it's terrifying, and it's fun. I'll probably write more about this once Jean's new solo comic comes out.

julian.

Julian is a telekinetic. He probably has the most simple powers of my entire mutant cast ( along with Piotr ) , he can move things with his mind and fly. His powers manifest as a green light, not unlike the Green Lantern Corps of DC fame.

His powers are not overly powerful, he's not on like Jean or Rachel Grey's level, but Emma Frost did unlock his potential when Julian flew across the United States at the sound of light in order to save Laura from dying. After this event his powers began to be very finicky, but they seemed to have stabled out.

I remain on the side that he's not ultra powerful, but in moments of distress or when he needs to save someone he can tap into the part of his brain that controls his power levels and manifest a higher control. It's rare though and when he does he ends up in a light coma for a few days to heal.

piotr.

Piotr has the power to shift his skin into steel. He grows in size and becomes extremely strong in this form.

He's a perfect defensive wall, he can crash through things, throw things ( and friends ) and do probably untold damage to most things. It's probably the most interesting thing about him from his original introduction in the 70's. He's the team's bruiser and tank and yet the duality with his soft and gentle personality makes for an interesting take on the "big guy" trope.

[sporkberries]

Do you have any Huntress/Helena Bertinelli issue or comic run recs? 👉👈 you have infected me with helena brainrot (positive)

So There are a two ways I can answer this question, the way i did previously with just the comics I'd recommend to get started or a full timeline for her- This time ill go with the full timeline. If you just wanna dip your metaphorical toes in the water check out this post, if you want to read her story from start to finish this is the post for you.

FIRST SOME CONTEXT ON HELENA BERTINELLI'S CHARACTER CREATION. Pre Crisis on Infinite Earth's there was a character known as Helena Wayne, she was the daughter of Earth Two's Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle and was The Huntress. She was fairly popular but the whole uhh massive crisis event erased her from continuity. The problem was people still wanted Huntress she was a recognizable name and also just people liked her so Helena Bertinelli was created. Despite sharing a first name and a superhero name Helena B and Helena W are INCREDIBLY different characters in personality and just.. in like every conceivable way. Alrighty now lets get started, Helena Bertinelli makes her first ever appearance in The Huntress(1989) I really like this comic run. It's pretty intense dealing with both CSA as well as SA but i think it does it pretty respectfully and well. Overall I really like this comic, that being said the art is a bit... rough, so i understand not wanting to read it. The Huntress(1989) 'era' of Helena ends with Justice League International Special 2, which btw if anyone has an actual good scan of this please let me know because my scan is ASS Then we got Detective comics #652-653 which has Helena's new costume and a team up with B-Man himself. Now its time for Robin III: Cry Of the Huntress- This is the first Helena and Tim team up!! I love them so much they r so silly so I consider this book required reading, also Helena has an awful mullet it's amazing Helena also has another story with Tim around this time in Benedictions which is a three part story in Dc Showcase 1994 # 5, Robin(1993) #6 , Showcase #6. Azrael is also running around as Batman during this so thats fun and quirky(i like azbat okay)

Next is Dixon's Helena with Huntress(1994) ERMM this is a comic that exists. It has some panels I like but i don't think its required reading it's uhh... Dixon!! and WOagh no wayyy another tim team up its almost like they are siblings bffs 5ever this is crazy Detective Comics #685-686 and Robin #17 also sidenote i like Lynx's 90's design a lot sighh Next is a string of complicated and long story lines. With Batman Contagion, Batman Legacy, Batman Catacylsm, and Batman No Man's Land. Also she gets her best outfit here yayyy :). Now parsing through all this stuff I don't really care that much about Batman: Legacy and I'm not gonna lie to you and say I've read Contagion in it's entirety because I haven't. Just know that Gotham gets hit by a mutated ebola virus and it sucks and is bad for everybody sjdkfbasdkg. Also again cool new Helena outfit top ten epic moments. Before all the No Man's Land stuff there is Birds Of Prey: ManHunt and Nightwing/Huntress. I do not like the latter and have no strong opinion on the former other than it's the start of a long line of Babs treating Helena like shit. ManHunt does have Dinah and Helena interactions though so :) yippeee Almost forgot this but Read Detective Comics #703 its a really cute Helena and Tim story read it right now thank you XOXOOXO I consider Cataclysm and No Man's Land, No Man's Land especially, CRITICAL HELENA READING. HELENA IS SO GOOD IN NML OH MY GOD. Cataclysm is kinda the set up to No Man's Land and also has a cool Helena/Steph teamup in Blunt Trauma. But No Man's Land is where the really juicy stuff is. I'm not really gonna say what specific issues Helena shows up in because you should really read all of or most of No Man's Land as its not only an important Helena story but THE MOST IMPORTANT Gotham story(in modern times anyway). I read the 5 trades but I've heard good things about the Omnibus as well. If you need further help with No Mans Land and how to read it just shoot me an ask or smth. READ NO MAN'S LAND Okay now after NML Huntres Joins the Justice Leauge of America in JLA #16. I have not read all of Helena's JLA stuff so i cant really comment on it I'm a failure sorry... NOW FOR THE RUCKA STUFF GREG RUCKA LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!!! So First check out Batman Chronicles #15, it's not all Helena but it does have a Helena story which is her first meeting with The Question so erm go read that !!! Now time for one of my fave huntress stories, Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood. THIS STORY IS SO FUCKING GOOD. It does retcon Helena's previous backstory which i have mixed opinions on but the new backstory is far from bad and also its just soosososo good i love greg rucka so much go read it right fucking now. Now I have bad news for you gamers. We have the Hush storyline wherein Jim Lee introduced the dreaded Helena Ab Window. Hush is generally pretty good but that outfit is uhhh an outfit!! she starts showing up in Batman #609 Generally speaking I do like this storyline so I would recommend the whole thing. Helena regularly starts appearing as a main character in Birds Of Prey at issue 56. Birds Of Prey IS a mixed bag but most of Helena's appearances from here on are in there so... Be prepared for a healthy dose of sexism though. Outside of BOP check out The Question: Pipelines which is a story in Detective Comics 854-864 written by love of my life Rucka of course. Helena is not in the whole thing but its a good story and her and Renee are a great Duo so I recommend it. While your out it also check out both issues of The Question: Convergence. Also written by Rucka and featuring Helena, its good :). Now I did leave some shit out like Battle for the Cowl but thats because I dont like battle for the cowl and also I don't think Helena is very central in those stories so TA DAA here is my list enjoy anon sorry for any spelling errors Tutorial on how i read comics safely

[ireywestnumber1fan]

1: does Irey go into a phase when she gets older? (Emo, princess, etc)

2: is Irey in a relationship? If not, who would you choose to be with her? (Is she straight XD)

3: is there any stories you want to tell about her? Or stories that you wish DC would do?

4: what’s her ideal boyfriend? (or girlfriend XD) nice, strong, tall, good looking, has a cute butt etc

5: what’s the best places to kiss on her body?

(The next two is silly if you want to answer):

6: what’s her opinion on toilet humor? Hilarious, meh, downright disgusting etc

7: is Irey a “fan” of nutshots? What’s her favorite nutshot to see? Like in movies and stuff. (Shreks definitely one of them XD)

1:I think she definitely had a few phases like she was hardcore punk for a bit and she’s still a little punk but less hardcore

2: I’m not 100 percent sure if she’s currently in a relationship but she 100 percent will be at some point. In no world do I believe Irey west is straight. Exhibit A: her kingdom come costume Exhibit B: She’s a kimpossible fan Exhibit C: In the Jeremy Adams dream issue the only human she dreams of is a cool super buff soldier girl

3: If given the option I would 100 percent write an entire 30+ flash run with a shared focus between Wally and Irey. I think I’d love to write a story about Irey’s first sleepover Irey having a panic attack and an overarching story of Irey figuring out who she actually is then if allowed also a future Irey west flash backup or special of some kind. Essentially I just want to establish her as the clear successor to the flash

4: I think she definitely wants someone who is cool and hot and muscular and she definitely wants someone she can goof around with and just have fun

5: A bit old fashioned but she does really like mouth and cheek kissing but she also enjoys knee and chest kisses

6: I think when she was under 14ish she found it really funny but after she was around 14 she found it less funny but she’d still sometime smile or give a little air out of the nose after hearing it

7: I think she’s tried it a few times on supervillains and once again found it hilarious when she was below 14 I’m not sure if she had a particular favorite but she definitely enjoyed a lot of them