#and this is just the start of a lot of other issues with modern retellings

[genericpuff]

Are there any other LO-critical projects like LR?? Doesn’t have to be comics, I like fanfic(critic-fic?) too, I’ve been really interested in reading stuff like LR

Sure is! The list I have here are just the ones I know of, there are definitely more out there if you browse the #antiLO #lo critical tags or filter your searches on fanfic sites like AO3, but I hope this gives you a good start into finding more works that scratch that itch!

Lore Asgard (AO3) - Briefly in the original LO, Persephone jokes about running off to the Norse Pantheon; Lore Asgard is what would have happened if she actually went through with it.

Lore Mictlan (AO3) - Also plays with the question of "what if Persephone ran off to the Norse Pantheon", but instead she winds up in the realm of the Aztec gods.

Pomegranmints (AO3) - Re-imagines the plot of LO if Persephone and Minthe kissed instead of fighting over Hades ٩(♡ε♡)۶

Survive the Night (Tumblr) - Not sure how long this project is planned to be but it's basically a re-imagining of LO that further explores all the deeply-rooted issues of Hades and Minthe's relationship. Very tense and emotionally raw dialogue scenes, Minthe gets a lot more agency and character exploration here.

Desire for Peace (Webtoon) - Though it's an entirely unique work separate from LO (it's not a fan comic or retelling), the creator was compelled by a distaste towards modern Greek myth retellings to create their own Greek myth comic, starring Ares as the main protagonist. It has both beautiful and unique art, and it presents a writing style that isn't as watered down and simplified as so many popular commercial Greek myth retellings tend to be. The creator is very cool and has done an amazing job at creating a true Greek myth retelling comic, without all the bells and whistles and crutches of "modernizing" the stories.

Theia Mania - Also not at all related to LO, it's just a great comic series that covers all sorts of different myths and tales, but it's most famously known for its ongoing retelling of Hades and Persephone in Queen of the Dead. Like the creator of Desire for Peace, the creator of Theia Mania is someone who Gives a Shit™️ about the source material they're writing about and does a great job at both presenting the culture of Ancient Greece at the time (so again, no modern 2000's stuff here) but also putting some of their own unique twists on an old tale. And the best part? No Demeter scapegoating to be found here <3

Lore Valhalla (Youtube/Patreon) - A brief one-shot that remakes the first episode of Lore Olympus, but with Norse gods instead of Greek. This isn't an ongoing series, just a fun project that Youtuber Crown Obsidian challenged himself to make after he read (and did not particularly enjoy) Lore Olympus.

[kryptonbabe]

Ahhh Alright I will admit it! I haven't read any Superman comics yet.

I'm taking this as a cry for help, I see you friend and I'm giving you my hand, it's always time to start reading Supes. I'm not good giving recommendations because everyone enjoys different things, but there are a few comics that come to my mind when talking about good Superman starting points. I'll try to be super brief.

Golden Age

To answer your other question, you don't have to start from the very beginning, but you totally can start from there if you so desire. Golden age Superman got me into pre-code comics, they are, in my biased opinion, one of the best golden age comic series, the stories hold up incredibly well for their age. This Superman is still developing, a lot will change yet, but the core traits of what makes him special are already there: the compassion, the defense of the oppressed, the double identity, the importance of his journalism career and Lois Lane. The main villains of these early stories are structural oppression, the government and mobsters - so yeah, I'm a big fan. He is wild and sometime scary, but always kind.

Now for something completely different (modern compilations)

American Alien: all issues are written by the same guy with beautiful art by different and talented artists, this book compiles loosely interconnected stories centered around different periods of Clark's early life, one of my favorite Superman books, this one presents several aspects of his lore in a light but engaging way, everyone is here, Lobo is here, Batman, young Dick Grayson, Lex Luthor, Abin Sur (!)

Red and Blue: every story here has a different writer and artist, the collection highlights the idealistic and emotionally moving traits that are essential to Superman, short stories representing why this character is so dear to us

Miniseries

For all seasons: a moving character study focusing on Clark as a person, it's a beautiful book if you like Tim Sale's style, with gorgeous coloring by a team of people. The story is simple and grounded, narrated by different important characters of Clark's life, warm and melancholic, less action focused and more reflective. This has the feel of an old-school Superman, but still soft and emotional

Birthright: a retelling of Superman's origin story, this time while the emotional core of the character is there in the importance of Clark's family and friends there's a more thrilling plot. Character dynamics are the best thing here and when this is combined with the respect Waid has for this character and his ability to write fun moments the result is a really nice lively read

Recent runs

Patrick Gleason / Peter J. Tomasi (2016-2018): post-New 52 Superman, family man Clark, married with Lois and with a kid Jon to take care of, I love this era for how action packed, but still warm it is. It showcases a different Superman dynamic, a more intimate and accessible take on the character while he lives lots of different adventures with his family, you don't need to have read the New 52 stuff, just jump on this and you're good to go

Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Warwolrd Saga): another stellar and very recent run that you can jump in knowing that now Clark and Lois son is grown up and Clark is travelling to Warworld, planet of Mongul, to rescue the enslaved people he keeps there. This is a long arc and Superman is depowered for most of it, while there's not a lot of specific Superman lore regarding his origins, recurring characters and everyday life, this is a completely independent adventure that recontextualizes the core ideas of what makes Superman Superman. It's such a different scenario that you can read it without worrying about being familiarized with the characters and settings, it's all new, just enjoy the jouney, the fantastic art and the beefcake of gladiator shirtless Kal-el

This is all for now, I have lots of other Superman comics I'd like to put here, but they can be hard to navigate (like most of the arcs on the triangle era and post-John Byrne Superman, or bronze age stories that haven't been collected), or they have very specific tones that might be an acquired taste (like silver age comics, and more bronze age stuff). This is also a very personal selection, there are other good Superman comics out there, but these are my choices. I really hope you enjoy it if you decide to read any of them. Message me if you have any other question about this!

[incorrect-green-lantern-quotes]

I've come to realize from going through your blog that I know very little about the Green Lanterns (curse of being an arrowverse into a batfam fan apparently) and I really wanna know more. From both a writing perspective, because I don't want to do them dirty when using the JL for something, and also because they seem like really interesting characters?? And I've never heard most of their stories.

So what would you recommend as the entry point to getting into them?

Ough that's a difficult one to answer because with seven (eight including Alan and nine if you count Keli) Green Lanterns from Earth alone, there's a lot of different places you can start. Like I personally started reading comics just before the New 52 reboot in 2011, so everything before that I've picked up via collected TPBs or wiki summaries or sheer osmosis from the Internet lol

I'll go in reverse order, because the more recent additions have the clearest starting points. They're pretty easy to catch up on since they don't have as much history as the others.

For Jo Mullein, Far Sector (2019) serves as both introduction and solo run, and it's essential for establishing her character before tossing her into the mix with the other Green Lanterns in Geoffrey Thorne's 2021 run and Jeremy Adam's current run.

Keli Quintela (aka Teen Lantern) debuted the same year as Jo in Brian Michael Bendis's Young Justice run, but unfortunately got lost in the shuffle of juggling an ensemble cast, most of whom were already established fan favorites. So her origin story is honestly half-baked. Keli played a small part in the Thorne run but was dropped into a coma and has only just woken up. Poor girl desperately needs a good writer to give her some depth.

Simon Baz came in with the New 52 in 2011 and Jessica Cruz arrived a few years later in the Forever Evil storyline of Justice League. Core aspects of both characters were established in those comics, like Simon's cynicism and Jessica's anxiety. Personally however, I consider Sam Humphries's Green Lanterns (2016) to be where the two of them actually got character development and focus, which is why I've put the two of them together.

Kyle Rayner is where things start to get complicated, because he and the older Green Lanterns have a lot of history that predates Geoff Johns's work that, for better or worse, basically is the start of the "modern era" of GL comics. While Johns's Emotional Spectrum saga does effectively become the new foundation for the characters going forward, the first story in it is Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004). Which was written for an audience who's already familiar with the GL mythos, so it's not an ideal place to start with if you don't already know the characters.

Rather, I think the most efficient* starting point is the Emerald Twilight storyline, which begins in issue #48 of Green Lantern Volume 3 (1990). It's Kyle Rayner's origin story, so it's not hard to find collected TPBs of it, and he starts out knowing basically nothing about Green Lanterns so it's a good jumping on point for new readers.

However, Kyle's origin is inseparably tied with the fall of Hal Jordan and the Corps, so if you prefer to have more context for those characters, you might want to read Emerald Dawn I (1989) and II (1990) beforehand. A lot of the stuff from them get retconned in Johns's retelling of Hal's origins, but they're still worth a read.

With John Stewart and Guy Gardner, a lot of their characterization from the 20th century is notably different from how it is today. Part of it is the way that Geoff Johns rewrote them, part of it is how popular the JL/JLU cartoon was. This is a large reason why I'd suggest the Emotional Spectrum saga as a starting point for understanding the modern versions of these characters before going back to their older stuff from the 80s and 90s.

Hal Jordan's history makes me want to beat my head against a wall. He's been around since 1959 but so much of his early stuff is still a blur to me. Someone's probably gonna scream at me if I don't mention Hard Traveling Heroes and his friendship with Oliver Queen. A lot of his Parallax and Spectre era material doesn't take place in actual GL comics but I don't know where to read it other than Zero Hour and Final Night because those were the only TPBs available to me.

Alan Scott, being a Golden Age hero, is largely a supporting character in the JSA, though he does sometimes show up in GL stuff. He did get a miniseries recently, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern (2023), that rewrites his past as a gay man in the Cold War era.

*I say efficient because I could list a bunch of miniseries and debut issues that are historically important for each of the characters but that would make this already lengthy post at least twice as long.

Alternatively, get the 80th anniversary special from a few years back and chug that shit

[hexhomos]

HI! hope your day is treating you well, i’ve been interested in doomreed for some time but cape comics are sort of daunting to me just because there’s so much content and i really don’t know where to begin. what do you suggest? thank you!

STRAIGHT OUT THE GATE ill say, read [ "My Dinner With Doom" ] (this is a rly high-qual upload, open it up on desktop!)

It's a key issue oneshot with a lil bit of backstory retelling, featuring a private dinner that happens in the 00's - a good entrance point if you're curious about doomreed in summarization + generally speaking a Real Good Comic overall.

LONG POST INCOMING THIS IS A LONG POST / click readmore

the fantastic four are one of marvel's darling old founding teams so there is pretty much... endless archival, ongoing, multimedia and games content popping up all the time.

They are also kinda one of the rare teams where the growth of the characters is consistent? The kids are allowed to grow older and events from every major run are carried/referenced by the next author so if you want to do chronological there's a lot of incentive and fun stuff.

If you wanna dip your toes into the F4 as a concept, check out:

*the #1 issue of Fantastic Four By Waid & Wieringo (1997) *Mythos: Fantastic Four (2007) [ *The FF (1994) movie that is up for free on youtube!! ] *Fantastic Four (2022) by Ryan North as the current ongoing!

(Some) Singles centered on Doom/Doomreed:

*Fantastic Four (1961) Annual 2 is Doom's original backstory issue *Marvel Two-in-One (2017) by Zdarsky issue #11 & Annual #1 are both crazy good but they spoil big events/conclusions from previous runs if u care abt that!!! (My current fav fic came from these issues.) *Doomgate (novel) by Jeffrey Lang is a good option if you want something that is mostly prose, instead of a comic or movie

NOW BEFORE YOU JUMP AHEAD WITH ANYTHING I *am* following [ this reading guide ] which breaks down specific issues relevant to their relationship as a line through all the different authors over the years.

[ There's also this 2021 guide w/ a few other story/AU highlights! The author said u can send the blog questions and theyll answer too ]

The 'Modern era' (late 90s/00s/10s/Now) Starts with Waid and McDuffie's stuff. The latter wrote My Dinner with Doom!

If you're scared by all the names, don't be - when searching for the issues, just pay attention to the year, # number & author/artist creds.

What I'm reading/liveblogging rn is Hickman's Secret wars era, generally regarded as yaoi ketamine; It's a good epic narrative entrance point if you want to jump into it, and it eventually led into this huge marvel event that changed the multiverse and even brought miles morales into the main timeline, so its BIG and it happened in multiple books - the best way to go about it is;

Pre-hickman:

Fantastic Four (1961) #551 #552 #553 ➡️ (these introduce main ideas we will touch again in secret wars)

Fantastic Four (1961) #558 to #562 ➡️

Doom appears in these too, first/last issues more heavily. Stuff here will be ref'd during the next era.

If you're having fun and want to keep reading you can! Just know that the next storyarc has gathered a largely mixed response bc..... its Millar going hammywammy....... not that necessary.......

anyway when you see hickmans name in the cover STOP and

Jump to actual Hickman secret wars era:

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman: The complete collection➡️

(optional, side plot) If you like Val + Doom, read specifically; *Fantastic Four (2014) #3 & #5 + Fantastic Four Annual (2014) #1 *Agent of Asgard #6 & #7 *Avengers World (2014) #15 & #16

New Avengers (2013) ➡️ check issues on picture, or, if you're a completionist, look for 'Avengers by Jonathan Hickman; complete collection' and skim for the doom/reed relevant bits. There's a lot of characters here but this is a buildup to the big secret wars. Secret Wars (2015) ➡️ (All issues!) Infamous Iron Man (2016) ➡️bendis' doom writing is not very good but hang in there because right after him: Marvel 2-In-One (2017) ➡️ (All issues!) is a banger. Yaoi btw.

You can basically read all the future/past ones as listed, or starting from the beginning of that author's period without worrying, bc they aren't as indebted to each other storywise.

You can also start somewhere else if you want or check out other single issues on the reading guides; It's not a crime! There's a lot of stuff with different takes and genres, I'm slowly chipping away at the secret wars era bc its just very thick and like a serious television drama attempt, except its also insanely funny sometimes.

(I'm still making my way through it so that's what I have at the moment!)

[positivelybeastly]

I'm new to comics and love beast. Is there any comics with beast that you'd recommend? There's so many xmen comics and idk where to start.

Hello there, friend! Getting into comic books is damned hard, but, thankfully, resources like Reddit, Tumblr, and Marvel Unlimited (or your pirating site of choice) all make it a lot easier to get into them these days without having to worry about being confused.

Well. You'll still be a little confused. Comic books are convoluted. But at least you'll be able to engage with them on your own terms. :) And, it's worth it. Mostly.

I'll tell you straight out that if you want some good entry points, like, this is my first X-Men comic, what do I read, I'd recommend the following:

X-Men: First Class (2006)

X-Men vol. 2 (1991)

New X-Men vol. 1 (2001)

Astonishing X-Men vol. 3 (2004)

X-Men vol. 6 (2024)

As for Beast specific recommendations? I have a ton!

For Beast as a character, being examined in his own right, I would recommend the following:

X-Men Origins: Beast - a retelling of his origin, updated with modern art and writing. Written by Mike Carey, whose work you should generally look into if you like X-Men - he focuses a lot on characters like Rogue and Xavier, but also on Beast, which is handy for our purposes!

X-Men: Unlimited vol. 1 #10 and vol. 2 #10 - so, this may be somewhat confusing to a new comic reader, but comics have volumes. This is when a comic of a certain title ends, and it's then relaunched with a new creative team, usually with a very different story.

So, X-Men: Unlimited is an anthology series that tells unconnected stories that fit in other places, between other comics, and there were two different volumes of it, one in the 90s, and one in the 00s. Both volumes have an issue #10 that focuses on Beast, and I'd recommend them both! Vol. 1 #10 especially would be, in my opinion, required reading if you really want to get into Beast.

Amazing Adventures vol. 2 #11 through #17 - the first stab at giving Hank his own solo series, from back in the 70s! Don't let the age get you down, I find this series to be actually fairly modern and easy to get into, and it's a nice sort of superhero/horror blend of tones that I find really effective.

X-Men: Endangered Species - this is a Beast solo story dealing with the aftermath of the Decimation, the event where Scarlet Witch removed the powers of 99% of the world's mutants. It's quite dark, but I think it's probably one of the best examinations of the character in the medium, and it works as an excellent sequel to Unlimited vol. 1 #10. Most of the context you need is given to you in the comic, which is handy. :)

X-Men: S.W.O.R.D vol. 1 - this is kind of a team-up comic, kind of not? The context for this is reliant on reading another run that I'll be recommending, but trust me, it's worth it. This is an outrageously funny book with a good emotional core, and it really captures Beast's essence, as a dual sided goofball jokester with a heart of gold and the intellectual moralistic do-gooder who can't leave well enough alone. One of my favourite comics of all time.

For Beast as part of a team, I would recommend the following:

X-Men: First Class - a prequel book set during the days of the Original X-Men, this series bounces between Cyclops, Angel, Iceman, Marvel Girl and Beast a fair bit, but even in issues that don't focus on Beast, he's still a part of the story and quite well written. Very slice-of-lifey, with a lot of charm to it.

X-Men: Season One - a retelling of certain stories from the original 60s run of X-Men, this is a pretty good one-and-done graphic novel that does change a few things, but keeps the spirit intact and tells you a lot about these characters and how they relate to one another. Just watch out for Iceman's Bieber hair.

Avengers vol. 1 #137-211 - this is a pretty long run of comics that features Hank's initial tenure on the Avengers, and will occasionally require a bit of reading around to make sure that you're reading the Annuals in the right place - usually, the comic will tell you to go read Annual #6 or whatever, but if you find a lot of stuff has happened and the story jumped ahead without you, chances are, it's in an Annual. Very variable in quality, but if you want to see classic Beast in all his glory, there's some really good stuff here, especially the foundation of his lifelong friendship with Wonder Man.

The Defenders/New Defenders vol. 1 #96-152 - probably one of my actual favourite run of comics ever. Beast joins the team a little later than #96, but if you jump in when Hank does, you'll be just a little confused, so it's best to start at #96 and go from there. Especially once Hank reforms the team to the New Defenders in #125, he basically becomes one of the very main characters and gets a lot of focus. Absolutely love this comic.

X-Factor vol. 1 #1-70 - the first six or seven issues of this are pretty bad, but it really comes into its own once it starts being written by Louise Simonson, who makes it much more soap opera, more character driven, gives all the characters a lot to do. There's a lot of crossover with other books, but usually it'll just tell you what to read if you want to know more about a part of a story in little editor's notes!

X-Men vol. 2 #1-95 - the classic 90s run; not my personal favourite, because it's pretty confusingly plotted, but if you want something that hews extremely close to the 90s cartoon, this is that to a tee, to the point where a lot of stories and characters were adapted to and from the comics directly!

New X-Men vol. 1 #114-156 - a landmark run on X-Men by Grant Morrison, this evolves Beast into a new form and changes up his character in a new, tragic manner that, personally, is my favourite iteration of the character. Very high concept sci-fi, occasionally quite confusing and problematic, but extremely good stuff, imo, and essential for getting into modern X-Men.

Astonishing X-Men vol. 3 #1-35 - a sort of sequel to New X-Men, this is again an extremely good entry point into modern X-Men, and it's very, very classic while still progressing the story. Just a note - when you read issue #24, do NOT go to issue #25, you need to go and read Giant Size Astonishing X-Men instead, THEN go to #25. I know, it's confusing, I'm so, so, so sorry, comics are just like this. This is the comic that leads straight into S.W.O.R.D pretty much.

Wolverine and the X-Men vol. 1 #1-42 - a more zany, school focused book, Hank is part of the wider cast here, but he does get some spotlight issues, and I do enjoy him here, especially his relationship with Broo. There are crossovers with Avengers vs. X-Men and other events in here, but those events are kinda sort skippable because they're bad. If you feel confused, you can read them, but I don't necessarily recommend them.

X-Men vol. 6 #1-ongoing - the current run of X-Men, written by Jed MacKay! To put it very bluntly, Beast went through about a decade of being quite badly written and slowly turned into a scummy villain through the recent Krakoa era, which I was not a fan of. There are individual issues between 2013 and 2024 that I can recommend, but if you like Beast, I would not recommend reading them, because I think that they are pretty bad and not fun to read. This is me being kind. But the new series picks up after that's all fixed, and Beast is getting a lot to do in this series, so I'd recommend it!

X-Men: From the Ashes Infinity Comics #15-18 - a supplementary comic that focuses on Beast, best read alongside the above X-Men run I recommended; it can give you all the context you need for where Beast is at, and why he's feeling the way that he is. A very, very good read, way exceeded my expectations, and I'm really pleased I can actually recommend modern comics for Beast again!

These are the main runs I would recommend! There's a lot more, if we want to get esoteric, and I'm sure I'm missing out on a lot of material - Beast has been around for 60 years, he's been in a LOT of stories - but if you want to get stuck into X-Men comics and really immerse yourself into the world and the stories, there's a lot of really good material here!

Welcome to the X-Men comics, friend! Hope you survive the experience!

[brw]

do you have any reccs for antman and wasp comics? seeing you post abt them has made me interested in getting into their stuff :)

Hi anon! I'm really glad you got interested in them via my posts! I'm going to focus on Hank and Janet together as a specific duo with a certain branding, theme and vibe, rather than them as separate characters, or even as a specific timeline on their relationship, but if you want something more like those then let me know and I can write something out!

Tales to Astonish #27 is the debut of Hank Pym, with #35 being the first official appearance of Ant-Man and Janet debuting in #44. If you like 60s comics and themeing, and are endeared to the LeeKirby style, start here. You can basically read this series consistently from these issues on to #52, or #70 if you don't mind the A-stories featuring the Hulk. If 60s comics aren't your speed though...

Avengers Origins: Ant-Man and the Wasp. A single issue retelling of their origin, which is a perfect modern jumping off point if you aren't up for the original comic run.

I won't recommend too many Avengers issues because there's a lot of moments interspersed in the original run, but Hank and Jan are in #1-#16, and return in #26 and appear pretty consistently from there. They're married in #59-#60, which is a weird arc I have a lot of thoughts on, but there you are.

Marvel Team-Up #59-#60 is a team-up series with Spider-Man which is weird but fun, which to my knowledge is the only time Claremont has ever written Janet and he immediately tries to give her more powers which I find funny.

Marvel Feature #4-#11. A series that attempted to recreate the vibe of Tales to Astonish and reestablish Hank and Jan as solo series that didn't quite pan out, but I find it a very endearing little series. They have a dog!

Tales to Astonish V3 is a strangely endearing series post their divorce, which I have a lot of affection for. It is really weird, though.

Ant-Man's Big Christmas probably isn't strictly canon but it's probably my favourite Hank and Jan issue ever, I reread it every Christmas because it's just so fun and sweet.

Avengers Fairy Tales #2 is an AU but I think it's cute, so I'm rec'ing it as a little extra thing you may have fun reading.

Aaaaand you can probably read the Busiek run of Avengers (volume 3), which is #1-#56 of the run. Hank and Jan are sharing space with a lot of other characters (Wanda is really the driving force of this run, if you're asking me), but Janet and Hank get their own arcs throughout so if you're jonesing for a longer run, this is it.

Hope this is what you're looking for! Let me know how the reading goes :333

[sineala]

Hi there. I just got interested in 616 Steve and Clint dynamic recently, and I wonder if you can recommend some titles highliting their relationship? Thank you. 🥰

Steve & Clint's friendship is seriously one of my favorite things about Avengers comics. We start out with Clint annoying the fuck out of Steve, and over a period of years we evolve to Clint continuing to annoy the fuck out of Steve except they care deeply about each other now. Clint learned how to be a leader from Steve, is extremely, extremely loyal, and will defend Steve in basically any circumstance. This is not to say that they don't disagree, because man do they ever disagree. But they're good friends. I think Steve likes having friends who aren't afraid to disagree with him.

(I didn't know until I read Young Avengers v1 for the first time last week that Kate became Hawkeye while Clint was dead, because Steve gave her the name, because he was impressed by how she stood up to him. You might have thought Clint would have given her the name after he came back to life, but no. Whoever annoys Steve the most gets to be Hawkeye. Apparently that's the rule. What's really funny is that Steve also does this again to someone else in the current miniseries Avengers Twilight, for the same reason. Who gives him the most shit? You're Hawkeye now! It's great.)

So! A list of Fun Comics About Steve And Clint!

The obvious starting place is the Kooky Quartet era of the Avengers. This begins in Avengers #16 when Clint joins the team. For those of you who don't have this issue memorized, in Avengers #16 Steve is off fighting villains by himself in another country, when the rest of the founding Avengers decide they need a break. So Steve finds out when he gets back that they're all leaving, that he's the new leader, and that his new teammates are Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye, none of whom he knows, all of whom are former criminals and/or villains. I don't know when the Kooky Quartet era officially ends, but I can tell you that the team mostly contains Pietro and Wanda until #47, so I suppose that's the end of the Quartet. I read up to #35 relatively recently so I can tell you there's good Steve & Clint stuff up to at least that far, and probably farther. You get to see their relationship evolve into them deciding that maybe they actually like each other.

There are also a lot of retellings of early canon (and newer stories set in the past) that will give you glimpses of the Kooky Quartet era with a more modern sensibility. The thing I'm thinking of here is Avengers #1.1 to #4.1 by Mark Waid, which was a miniseries released in 2017 as part of Mark Waid's Avengers v7. I think the wiki lists it under v7; it was released in trade with the title Avengers Four, which isn't confusing at all. Anyway, it's all Kooky Quartet and it's great. You know how Waid's Man Out of Time series kind of rewrites and expands Avengers #4 to tell a new story? This is like that but for Avengers #16.

You might also consider series that are entirely early-canon retellings like Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (the miniseries, not the cartoon); I know that definitely goes up to the Quartet and beyond. There are two volumes of this series.

I unfortunately can't tell you what happens in most of v1 off the top of my head, but I can give you a list of Avengers v1 issues in which both Steve and Clint are on the team, because I have a big list of team rosters. After Avengers #62, Clint changes his codename to Goliath for a bit, but he's still there until #111 (mostly with Steve also on the team), then #142-147, then #172-177, then #181-182, then #221-232. This takes you up to the mid-1980s. After that, except for a few scattered issues, Clint and Steve aren't both on the Avengers again until volume 3, in 1998. (You will note that this is also true of Steve and Tony, and in fact it's for the exact same reason -- both Clint and Tony are on the West Coast Avengers, in California, for pretty much the rest of v1. Clint's other Avengers v1 appearances are #305, #309, #313, #397-401. So it's not a lot there.)

But, don't worry, Clint also has several cameo appearances in Captain America v1. Unlike Avengers, I don't have a handy list of these, so you can probably just go through Clint's appearances list on the Marvel wiki and see which ones are in Cap comics. I can tell you the three that stick with me, though! Two of them are Cap #316 and #317, where Clint and Bobbi come back to New York for a visit, and Steve and Bernie break up so that Bernie can go to law school in Wisconsin, and Bernie throws a party on her last night there that Steve is supposed to attend, except Steve fucks off to go superheroing with Clint. They talk about their love lives and Clint gets to use Steve's shield and Steve gets to use Clint's bow. Steve gets back to find out that he has entirely missed the party and Bernie has finally left him. Can't imagine why.

My other pick is Cap #401, which if you are a Steve/Tony fan you will know is the issue after Operation Galactic Storm where Tony finds Steve in a bar to apologize for everything he's ever done. But the reason Steve is in the bar in the first place is that Clint got sick of Steve sulking and came and jumped on his bed until Steve gave in and went out for a drink with Clint.

Clint does then of course make him talk about his feelings. It's a very sweet interlude of Clint cheering Steve up in his own unique way.

Volume 3 is the next time Steve and Clint are together on the Avengers since Clint left for the West Coast -- and, I mean, it's a good read anyway. This is when I set the one Steve/Clint fic I actually wrote, so here we see my biases. Clint starts out on the team right in Avengers v3 #1, and he stays there until #10, which is when he leaves to lead the Thunderbolts. (Note to self: read Thunderbolts.) You'd think at this point that Clint wouldn't be back with Avengers for a while, but he immediately comes back in #12 and brings his new Thunderbolts and gets into a fight with Steve about whether the T-Bolts can be trusted. Clint later pays the team another visit in the Avengers/Thunderbolts crossover "The Nefaria Protocols" (Avengers v3 #32-34, Thunderbolts v1 #43-44 -- but, you know, in more of an interspersed order) which is a lot of fun and I'm not just saying that because I have a 160,000-word Steve/Tony WIP that is set during it. Anyway. Kurt Busiek started out writing both Avengers and Thunderbolts in this era of canon, but by the time this crossover happened, Fabian Nicieza had taken over Thunderbolts.

There is also a second Avengers/Thunderbolts crossover during this timeframe, the 2004 miniseries Avengers/Thunderbolts #1-6, by Busiek and Nicieza. I haven't actually read it because I wanted to read more Thunderbolts first, but I can tell you it does have both Clint and Steve in it, although it's set after Clint has stopped leading the T-Bolts and has returned to the Avengers.

Yes, Clint does actually rejoin the Avengers proper toward the end of v3 -- he's there from #75 right up to #503 (it renumbered to #500 after #84), although I suspect that that's when he actually dies, because that's Avengers Disassembled. The only Steve & Clint interaction in that time period that really sticks in my mind is Avengers v3 #77, in which Clint takes it upon himself to give Steve some romantic advice that Steve definitely isn't asking for.

(If you've seen any of this issue at all, it's probably an out-of-context panel of Steve telling Clint he didn't say he wanted a woman.)

Once again, Clint also makes some cameos in Steve's comics, in Captain America v3. The one that's memorable to me is in the Capmania arc of Cap v3, which is the very first arc, #1-7. The TPB version of this appears to be called To Serve and Protect. Mostly I remember Clint giving Steve shit about Captain America's new, massive popularity (which turns out to be an evil Skrull plan).

So after Avengers Disassembled, Clint is dead until after Civil War, at which point Steve is also dead, so they're, uh, not interacting much. However, even though Steve is dead, you probably want to read Fallen Son (specifically #3), which is the issue where Tony learns that Clint is alive again and then immediately tries to get him to be Captain America because Tony only has the best and healthiest coping mechanisms when Steve is dead. Clint tries out the shield and uniform and then basically tells Tony to go fuck himself. So that's a no from him. While he's running around dressed as Captain America is also when he meets Kate for the first time and finds out that she's Hawkeye. Everyone is very angsty about everything because that's just what Civil War comics are like.

(I guess I should have known after reading this comic how Kate got her name, but, as I said. I hadn't read Young Avengers until last week, so everything the Young Avengers did in this comic didn't really register.)

The next time Steve and Clint are both alive at the same time is Avengers v4. Clint is on the team for the whole run (#1-34). Technically Steve is Commander Rogers of the Secret Avengers up until after Fear Itself, so he doesn't actually rejoin the team until #18, but he spends a lot of the first half of the run hanging around the Avengers anyway for some reason (it's because he's deeply weird about Tony). So you might as well start from the beginning because Steve's there a lot despite technically not being on the team. I can't say that Steve and Clint have any memorable moments in v4 that are coming to mind right now, but they are both there and it's a reasonably fun run.

Speaking of the Secret Avengers, Steve runs the Secret Avengers until #21. Clint runs them from #22 onward (Steve stays for the first couple issues of Clint's tenure, #22 and #23). Don't ask me how Clint can lead the Secret Avengers and be on the regular Avengers at the same time when Steve apparently can't do this, but this seems to be a thing Clint can do. It's probably because Clint's not weird about Tony. Anyway, the issue you actually want to read is Secret Avengers #21.1, where Steve actually hands the Secret Avengers over to Clint and they do some superheroing together, just like old times.

Clint was on the Avengers during Hickman's run, as was Steve, because pretty much everyone was on Hickman's Avengers at some point (seriously, have you seen those team rosters?) but I don't know that Clint and Steve had any really good moments. There was that bit in one of the Original Sin tie-ins (#30) where Future Clint told Steve he should kill Tony but I don't think that was a very good moment. I'm not sure that Steve and Clint have been on a team together since then because I honestly don't think Clint's been on the main team since then, though they've both shown up in events and so on. I guess you could read Avengers Millennium. That had both of them and it had some fun moments for them, by which I mean that one panel where Clint watches Steve punch out a lion.

In terms of Clint's cameo appearances in Cap comics of this era, I know Clint's been in Brubaker's run, although the only moment with Steve I can honestly remember is when he gets mad at Steve for not telling him Bucky was the Winter Soldier, in the Trial arc. And -- not by Brubaker but at the same approximate time -- there's a Captain America & Hawkeye series (#629-632).

It's part of the same series of Cap team-ups that includes One Night In Madripoor (Captain America & Iron Man #633-635), and in fact these are the issues that are right before One Night in Madripoor.

It's fun. Steve gets turned into a dinosaur.

So you might wonder at this point whether Steve appears in any of Clint's solo comics, and sadly I can't really answer that because I haven't read a lot of Clint's solo comics and the ones I did read didn't have a whole lot of Steve that I remember. Mostly I've read Fraction and some of the really early Hawkeye minis. @blossomsinthemist recommends the miniseries Hawkeye: Blindspot (2011), which I have not read but which does have Clint and Steve on the cover, which seems promising in terms of its potential to contain both Steve and Clint.

I looked at the beginning and it appears to be set in early Avengers v4. You see what I mean about Steve just hanging around the team. This is apparently following on from the events of the 2011 miniseries Widowmaker, and it's about Clint going blind. All the angst.

There are probably more Hawkeye solo comics that feature Steve but I don't know what they are.

To recap, in list form, vaguely ordered by Avengers comics in an era and then Cap comics in the same era:

Kooky Quartet: Avengers v1 #16-47

Avengers Four (Avengers v7 #1.1-4.1)

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes v1 & v2

Avengers v1 #48-111, #142-147, #172-177, #181-182, #221-232, #305, #309, #313, #397-401

Captain America v1 #316-317

Captain America v1 #401

Avengers v3 #1-10, #12

The Nefaria Protocols: Avengers v3 #32-34, Thunderbolts v1 #43-44

Avengers/Thunderbolts (2004) #1-6

Avengers v3 #75-503 (esp. #77)

Captain America v3 #1-7

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #3

Avengers v4 #18-34

Secret Avengers v1 #21.1 (and #22 and #23 if you want)

Avengers: Millennium #1-6

Captain America & Hawkeye #629-632

Hawkeye: Blindspot #1-4

I hope that gives you someplace to get started!

[icaruslamenting]

⌗ !! ꒰ 31 days of helpol ꒱ 🏛️

(i’m so sorry y’all, i’ve been sick and had some health issues going on [both mental and physical] but im working on it and hopefully i should be able to start posting more frequently!! catching up for the 18th-21st)

day eighteen - “how can you best describe your relationship with each of your deities?”

honestly, i don’t exactly know how to describe my relationship with them. a lot of people see them in a family sort of way, but it just doesn’t feel like that to me. not right now, at least. it’s tricky to describe😭 but i hold a lot of respect and love for them, and i know they share that love with me as well <33

day nineteen - “if you had to assign one song to each of the deities you worship, what songs would you choose?”

(you’ll notice a theme in each one lol [music recs btw])

Lord Apollo - Haunted by Laufey, ICARUS by Tony Ann, Icarus & Apollo by Ripto, Arsonist’s Lullaby by Hozier, Talk by Hozier, Sunlight by Hozier, Work Song by Hozier, Take Me to Church by Hozier (lotssss of hozier)

Lady Aphrodite - Spanish Doll by Poe, Fade Into You by Mazzy Star, Medusa by Kaia Jette, Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey, Salvatore by Lana Del Rey, Brooklyn Baby by Lana Del Rey (and lotssss of lana del rey)

Lord Hermes - Headlock by Imogen Heap, Taking What’s Not Yours by TV Girl, Only You by Portishead, Glory Box by Portishead (really just a lot of imogen heap and portishead for Lord Hermes)

Lord Dionysus - Cheri Cheri Lady by Modern Talking, Out of Touch by Daryl Hall & John Oates, A Question of Time by Depeche Mode, Strangelove by Depeche Mode, Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode (can you tell i like depeche mode?? i love depeche mode)

day twenty - “do you have a favorite aspect of hellenic polytheism?”

really how beautiful and ancient the religion is. like… you’re telling me that people thousands of years ago loved the gods like i do?? that people thousands of years ago would see the same sun as me and have the same thought of Lord Apollo as i have had?? that people thousands of years ago longed to see the beautiful statues of Lady Aphrodite like i want to?? it’s so insane and really cool!!

day twenty-one - “are there any retellings/adaptions of greek mythology that you like? why/why not?”

a bunch!! i love all the percy jackson series’ (pjo, hoo, toa, all those), circe and the song of achilles (both by madeline miller), epic the musical, hadestown, and hades (the game, it’s super fun to play!!). i probably forgot one or two, so sorry about that!! but yeah, i love all of those. i’ll give my opinion on blood of zeus eventually, but i’m only just now starting and i want to try and rope my family into it too. but as for why i like them, i just think they’re cool!! i’m obviously always gonna be a massive fan of the classics like the iliad and the odyssey, but i like the other ones too :)

[hondafuckingodyssey]

X-men comic recommendations

The other day I went on a rant about how nobody should attempt to read all of the x-men comics in order because if the x-men have no respect for the spacetime continuum, you shouldn't have to respect reading their shit in order.

So here's a list of comics series, some that I've read and some that are on my to read list. Mind the authors and the dates, Marvel likes to recycle titles so sometimes you'll accidentally pick up something that's a completely different story from ten years later.

If you're going to getting your comics from the library and different sources (cough archive.org cough), or skipping around to different eras, I recommend an app like Comic Geeks where you can track which issues you've read. As a bonus, you get a satisfying little dopamine hit every time you check off a comic you read.

The original silver age comics from 1963 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby These are fun, but they kind of suck. I believe X-men was one of their worst selling titles for many years. They are campy fun though, like that island has a giant acme magnet on on top of it, I wonder if that's Magneto's secret base, hmmm? I'm kind of working through these when I just have my phone because they're easier to read on a smaller screen than the new stuff with full page spreads.

Chris Claremont's classic X-men run, starting in 1975. This is the classic starting point I hear recommended again and again. You start with Giant Size x-men number 1, and then go to X-men issue 94. This is where all the classic x-men are introduced. You got your Dark Phoenix saga, and Days of Future Past, and a lot of the storylines that were used in the 90's animated series. Everybody should read some of these. But Chris Claremont was writing the X-men for FOURTEEN years. Do not attempt to read all of these before you move onto the modern stuff.

The Dark Phoenix saga, 1980 Chris Claremont, issues 129-138 Ok, I just finished these last night and they're so good that I want to make a special call out for them. I jumped ahead to read them and I'm so glad I didn't wait. I can't figure out how the movies sucked so bad when they had this source material to work with. We could have had an epic moon battle? If you don't read anything else from this era read these. Pro tip: get the epic version of like a prayer stuck in your head right before starting on issue 137. Really adds to the atmosphere.

X-men Season 1 by Dennis Hopeless, 2012 This is a graphic novel (so published altogether instead of in individual issues) retelling of the original silver age comics. It's mostly from Jean Grey's point of view. It's very fun.

Children of the Atom, 1999 by Joe Casey, 6 issues Sort of a prequel, explains how Charles Xavier recruited a bunch of teenagers. This looks good, but it started out with mutants being lynched, and with the way I always compare being a mutant to being queer, and the election and project 2025 looming, I decided this one was too much for me right now.

X-men First Class, 2006 by Jeff Parker, 8 issues I read the first four of these and they were cute. Bobby is writing home to his parents about his time in school, Scott and Jean go to the beach. Lots of fun character stuff. Originally 8 issues but it looks like they immediately did another run of issues the next year.

New X-men, 2001 by Grant Morrison his run starts with issue 114 This is a great place to jump in if Deadpool & Wolverine got you interested in x-men comics, because it's got Cassandra Nova in it. She's doing her weird finger thing! Supposedly this is one of best places to jump into modern x-men. I've read about 6 of them, so far so good.

Astonishing X-men, 2004 by Joss Whedon This is supposed to be the best x-men run ever. It continues directly from Grant Morrison's run. I'm saving it for next time I have a mental breakdown a rainy day.

All-New X-men, 2013 by Brian Michael Bendis This is what I'm reading the most of right now. Cyclops is being an asshole, and Beast decides the best way to solve this problem is to go back in time and bring the original teenage x-men from '60s back with him to confront him. This works particularly well as a jumping in point because they keep explaining backstory through the kids finding out all the ridiculous things that have happened. Like, poor Jean asking how she died, and they're is like, um which time?

[madwomanxx]

Trying to work out a more consistent timeline and relationship chart to fit my world is both tiresome and fun!

But there are also so many ideas that I want to explore, so piecing things in such a way that allows me more space to do a lot of ideas at the same time, requires using lesser known sources and versions

Right now I'm trying to sort out Hera and Zeus's relationship

Zeus and Hera as individuals I immediately knew what direction I wanted to take, especially with Zeus

I wanted to explore how his kingly duties and role led him to neglecting his role in the family unit ( this also works as my reasoning for the rebellion led by Hera, my research on it showed very few sources and details, seems like even the reasoning is unknown)

Since I like writing in modern times rather than retelling, the whole "arc" or plot line for Zeus is centered around him finally listening to his family and fixing his relationships and misunderstandings ( this could be its own post so I won't get to it here, I want to talk about him and Hera)

With Hera I had a good idea of her portrayal but never knew where to take it, still don't know for sure but I decided to try to figure out her marriage

I saw a post with great sources and infos on how much they actually love each other and how the whole cuckoo bird incident isn't necessarily rape or bad

The post definitely has a lot of bias towards minimizing genuine issues in the relationship imo, a lot felt like an overcorrection ( been noticing a trend of this happening with others too) but I am genuinely convinced that their relationship started out loving, consensual and even cute!

Examples:

Nonnus' Dionysiaca, book 41, line 263(5th century AD):

(Aphrodite to Harmonia):'I joined Zeus in wedlock with Hera his sister, after he had felt the pangs of longlasting desire and desired her for three hundred years: in gratitude he bowed his wise head, and promised a worthy reward for the marriage that he would commit the precepts of Justice (Dike) to one of the cities allotted to me.'

Idylls, detailing something Aristocles (possibly 1st century AD) wrote in his compilation of Hermionian cult traditions

"Women know everything, even how Zeus married Hera. Zeus was planning on having sex with Hera when he noticed that she was separated from the other gods. Because he did not want to be obvious and did not want to be seen by her, he changed his appearance into a cuckoo and was waiting on a mountain which was first called Thornax but is now just called Cuckoo.

Zeus made a terrible storm on that day and when Hera was going toward the mountain alone, she stopped at the very place where there is currently a temple to Hera Teleia ["Hera the Fulfilled/Happy Wife"].

The cuckoo, flew down and sat on her lap when he saw her, shivering and freezing because of the weather. Hera saw the bird and pitied him and covered him with her cloak. Then Zeus suddenly transformed his appearance and grabbed a hold of Hera. Because she was refusing him due to their mother, he promised that he would marry her. Among the Argives, who honor the goddess the most of all the Greeks, the cult image of Hera sits in the temple on a throne holding a scepter in one hand on which a cuckoo is seated

Pherecydes (6th century BC)

For him (Zeus' wedding preparations) they make the houses many and great. And when they had finished providing all this, and also furnishings and men-servants and maid-servants and all else required, when all is ready, they carry out the wedding. On the third day of the wedding, Zeus makes a robe, large and fair, and on it he embroiders Earth and Ocean and his dwelling [Heaven]...'For wishing your marriage to take place, I honour you with this. Therefore receive my greeting and be my wife.' This they say was the first unveiling ceremony, and hence arose the custom among gods and men. And she answers him, receiving the robe from him...

Pherecydes says that when Zeus wed Hera, Gaia came, bearing branches with golden applies [another Pherecydes fragment says that Gaia grew them on the shore of Oceanus, Hera's home], and Hera, in admiration, asked Gaia to plant them in her gardens near distant Mount Atlas. When Atlas' daughters kept picking the apples from the trees, Hera is said to have placed this guardian [Ladon] there.

I've also read the Iliad in which I see 2 sides of Zeus that I didn't know of, I remember him threatening Hera and her being genuinely terrified few times, but he also asks for her council and genuinely listens

I have seen some try to dismiss Zeus's infidelity as either, solely on Eros and Aphrodite ( inspired by the dialogue of the gods and the play Hippolytus, I'm inclined to believe that they can only force feelings not actions. I choose to go with this in my world while adding an element of them forcing feelings that could have realistically developed under the right circumstances, so they can't force a straight person to love the same gender for example)

I have seen others dismiss their importance and Hera's anger as only targeted towards women with children who threaten her position and kids, I fundamentally disagree with this, while yes! Women who threaten her are 100% going to be targeted. Other types of women can be targeted too, Io is one that comes to mind, I'm pretty sure she was a victim and held no threat to Hera. I'm sure you can find more if you sit down and read a list of Zeus's lovers .

Imo, I don't think some women being safe from Hera's wrath proves that Hera only targets one kind of woman, this very much ignores the context of these punishments serving as a warning against irl infidelity, as well as just... A weird argument?? Like okay Zeus has many lovers, some were safe, hell you might even argue the majority were safe. Doesn't change that a good amount of them weren't, just like Apollo has many successful none tragic lovers, doesn't erase that a noticeable number of them ended badly or rejected him.

Some people just slipped under Hera's radar XD!! Or her anger had died down by the time she found out about it, ya know?

So, the way I write them, after the honeymoon phase ended, Zeus stopped resisting the temptation, the resentment slowly grew, but their relationship still remained relatively healthy and loving

Then the shift to monarchy happened, and that was the last straw for Hera, she started the rebellion, it failed

This is when their relationship started getting truly toxic and hitting even abusive territory, Zeus was very angry and some of his trust in Hera wavered

Eventually, with time they get back into a comfortable territory, but still not as happy as the start, but they'll begin healing at some point, and rekindle their love once more!

The road would be a lot more bumpy than this ofc

But, that led me down a rabbit hole with Leto, Hera and Zeus

I got inspired by the accounts claiming Leto and Zeus as being in a relationship before Hera, and this:

Plutarch (2nd century AD, relating a tradition from Euboea)

Hera, while yet a virgin, being brought up in Euboea, was stolen away by Zeus, and was carried across and hidden in this region, where [Mount] Cithaeron afforded them a shady recess: nature's own bridal-chamber. And when Macris-she was Hera's nurse- came to seek her, and wished to make a search,[the god] Cithaeron would not let her pry about (or approach the spot) on pretence that Zeus was there resting and passing the time in company with Leto. And as Macris went away, Hera thus escaped discotery on that occasion; and afterwards calling to mind her debt of gratitude to Leto she adopted her as partner.[..]

Every single source I've found about Leto and Zeus's relationship is very loving, mutual and consensual relationship

I never agreed with people saying that Leto is a "homewrecker" first of all, get those modern terms out, second Leto is literally described as mild, it's Zeus who's more than happy to seek her out, and third I find that term very misogynistic. Like, I'm sorry if someone is flirting with you, it's 100% your choice to shut it out, entertain it or accept it. Why are we throwing the attention and blame on the other person? Don't get me wrong those who knowingly flirt with people in a relationship are absolutely awful, shows their lack of respect for others. But it's fully on the partner to not bloody cheat!

Anyway The passage I showed, felt like it was god sent, it gave me the idea :

Zeus's biggest love is Hera, but she kept rejecting him, he fell in love with Leto ( side note, I write most of the gods as some flavor of poly, I mean that they are perfectly capable of genuinely falling in love with multiple people at the same time, I'm by no means representing an actual poly relationship with them. They're gods and have a weird system going on lol)

He pursued Leto! Again he genuinely loves her, and she genuinely loves him back, it was all good!

Leto was okay at least that's what she told Zeus with a multiple wives/relationship situation, whatever you wanna call it, she's mild, agreeable and very gentle as long as it doesn't involve her kids getting hurt of course she wasn't necessarily happy with it, but she can live with it and she's friendly with Hera anyway!

The cuckoo bird thing finally happened and Hera accepted Zeus on the conditions that he marries her and fully commits to only her, this meant breaking it off with Leto. Zeus immediately agreed!

Leto absolutely felt awful, she was willing to accept him and he threw her away anyway the second Hera asked, but she would've moved on, except

Hera is super pissed that Leto would even date Zeus, maybe she could've gotten past it, I mean that was before her time. BUT Leto's baby is destined to be greater and more beloved to Zeus than Hera's, she couldn't let that happen

Everything was going wrong for Hera, what was supposed to be her happy day was going to be ruined, so the events we all know happen

I don't think in modern times they could ever reconcile or be on any friendly terms, maybe semi civil avoiding each other sure, Hera can avoid antagonizing her and her kids, Leto wouldn't attack her first either

But I genuinely don't think their friendship can be salvaged, not after the suffering Leto had to go through ( seriously read some of the accounts after giving birth, the humans treated her and her new born children so bad, it's disgusting and heartbreaking-)

[thenixkat]

they got Booster to the hospital and find out that he's dying. His crew also somehow fixed his suit or got him one that looks like the real one

Local Asian dude directing the local STAR labs was able to repair a lot of Booster's suit and Skeets

Folks get told that Booster's from teh future which may give hints to why he's stick and how to help him. Man fixed half of poor Skeets

a mob is attacking the hospital to attack Booster Gold b/c the public hates superheroes

Booster got another haircut and also lost weight due to his illness

local nurse admonishes Booster for being a public superhero and donating money to charity instead of helping people anonymously and I gotta ask lady do you have the same feelings for regular actors and other rich people?

The person running the hospital wants to throw out Booster who is deathly ill and still injured b/c he's a 'disruptive element'

meanwhile the mob breaks into the hospital to attack an ill and injured man

Trixie is pressured to put on the costume that STAR labs made to go rescue Booster

the crowd is literally trying to murder Booster. With the logic that no superheroes means no supervillains. ANd like, yall could take that energy and try to murder supervillains instead of just…assuming that supervillains would just retire if there were no superheroes around to stop them

pork queen. pork queen. Man comics hate fat people. Like just utterly laothe fat people existing

ok Asian dude's name is Jack heh Booster punches security

how the fuck did the security for an airfield not owned by the military get a fucking sonic canon for the security guards to use?

Jack fumbles a bit on Skeets prononus but remembered

ok looks like were gonna get Booster telling his story from his perspective

ugh the way its phrased

I assume the writer just kinda hates poor people. To phrase Booster not wanting to wait another year being poor as shit b4 he could begin supporting his family with his career as 'wanted to be rich and famous as soon as possible' damn.

damn the whole squad looks disappointed to hear that Booster's a criminal from the future. Like their respect for him for all of his heroic deeds just took a nosedive find out he did some crime

but also how they keep describing Booster's turn to gambling as just being impatient wanting fame and fortune and then spending mush less panel space explaining how his family was poor as shit and he wanted to support them is just such an iffy way to tell his story

…is Ripley Hunter…Rip Hunter?

yes that is the Rip Hunter. Just chillin in the past going to university and inventing a time machine

yeah like perhaps not wanting his family to starve for another year was something he wanted. (also a later retcon that retells Booster's origin also has his mom with a heart condition that he wanted money to fix) also I have to imagine given his father was a gambling addict who ruined the family, and something his mom hadn't been shy talking about, that the decision to start gambling wasnt a lightly made one

so if Booster, who used a finished version of this very time machine to come back in time helped with the final touches to make the time machine more like its supposed to be would that not be a fucking paradox?

Granted he's also apparently Rip Hunter the inventor of the time machine he used dad so who the fuck knows. I dont belive in the stable time loop there's too many fucking variables

apparently Gotham cleans up its industrial pollution issues several hundred years in the future

what do you mean that Booster's forcefield was constantly on protecting him from fucking bacteria.

like what does that mean for Booster's gut flora and other symbiotic bacteria if he was eating modern day food? also no! that's a silly explanation b/c we know that Booster took his costume off sometimes

also… past food should have given Booster hell of diarrhea until his system adjusted to it

so after Booster ran away his mom got sick and died and his sister had to move b/c she couldnt afford rent

but also sir yer really surprised like you werent the breadwinner until you dipped

[toomanythoughts2]

Piggybacking a bit off of your Murderface Agere

When he’s Agere and watches the shows he’ll start mimicking the characters for a bit during and after he watches an episode. If he’s with Toki especially he’ll try to do the ‘thundercats ho!’ Or try to set up an elaborate prank like Hawkeye and BJ. Personally (since I’m the most familiar with tmnt, thundercats, and MASH) I think his favorite characters would be Leonardo and Raphael, Lion-O and Panthro, and BJ and Hawkeye. That being said I think from MASH he subconsciously leaned onto the Winchester himself and occasionally goes around saying “A Murderface would never do this” while doing exactly that <- (projecting). If we’re going with him watching these shows growing up he most definitely did it to seem more put together and classier at school. Like a defense to be alone. “A Murderfasche would never schtoop to schuch pompousch activitiesch” or “Muschic like this would never be worthy for repugnent earsch schuch asch yoursch” Very defensive very holier than thou but as we know very sensitive and at the core very heroic. Mr. Winchester often did heroic things simply because they were right, not because he wanted reward. I think Murderface took on that "Dont see me be genuinely good" act but because it was a show still wanted a bit of recognition. I’m loosing the plot a bit but im basing this a lot off of his one liners and his wants to be like a movie hero, so I think him projecting and favoring the leaders specifically would be huge, but drawing from characters like Charles Winchester III , Raphael and I think Tigra is more subconscious.

Also on the which MASH era was better debate he’d definitely enjoy both eras for different reasons so don’t ask him to choose. And for TMNT he’d prefer the 80s cartoon but has no issues with the live action movies with the puppets (maybe the bay movies but it depends on the day I’ve never watched them so I can’t say how well they hold up) Thundercats tried and true with the original version as well BUT he discovers the 2012 version at some point and enjoys the more modern retelling.

AAHHH! These are all really good! I'll admit, I've never actually watched any of these shows (I know, I'm lame ;P) but I absolutely see your vision with him favoring the leaders! That reminds me of all the times in the show he wants to be or take on the role that Nathan has. That's why I think he tries so hard to get writing credit or song credit because, hey, that's what Nathan does, and he's the leader, and he's cool. Except, they all know him, so they know he's full of shit. And that's where the regression happens again, where he wants to be this cool dude who does cool things, but he's only able to see it from a child-like mind. Ugh, you provided so much more context to my little HC, I LOVE IT!

Murderface being a cartoon connoisseur would be hilarious though, because it's just right up his alley of niche interests with a very heated community of loyal fans. He's on Chitter in heated threads with other fans, defending his stances, but also causing mayhem and discourse. Lol.

[murdockmeta]

What dd run do you recommend for someone who wants to get to know Matt as a character?

Or better question; what issues?

"get to know Matt as a character" hm. fantastic question. I personally read volumes 3, 4, and 5 first before going back and reading some of the older stuff in volume 1. and it's really only been recently that I'd say I have a good grip on Matt's character.

Important parts of Matt's character are his resilience and integrity, his insistence on fighting for others' fair treatment, his admiration for the value of all life, his compassion for others no matter their situation, and his dedication to those he considers family.

Other important parts of Matt's character are his pride, his impulsivity, his lack of regard for his own safety/well-being, his destructive tendencies, and his poor coping mechanisms (which are plentiful in number; most notably perhaps being how he isolates himself from others).

These all tend to feed into one another. I'm going to try and suggest what I think showcases these parts of him.

fair warning: I definitely haven't read everything, namely volume 2 and a large bit of Miller's run, which most people consider very important.

if you're looking for a specific volume that's beginner-friendly, I'd say volume 3 is a good place to start, but if you want (in no particular order) a list of specific issues--

Daredevil Volume 1 issue 1 (Lee) - this one I have to rec out of pure respect. it gives you Matt's origin story and shows you a lot of his values that are still present in the modern-day character. though, if you're really not into older comics, I could say it's probably safe to skip until you feel more comfortable with the character

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 (Miller) - this is probably considered the most iconic daredevil arc ever written, and for good reason. as many issues as I have with miller, he's a fantastic writer, and this retelling of matt's origin is gold.

Daredevil Volume 3, issues 28-36 (Waid) - waid just really Gets matts character, we get to see matt beat up bigots and really show off his positive traits while combating the more negative ones

Daredevil Volume 1, issues 301-306 (Chichester) - Re-introduction of the owl in a compelling way, slice of life interactions, spider-man crossover. what's not to like. chichester is excellent at highlighting matt's endless compassion and value for life while also remembering matt's destructive tendencies

Daredevil Volume 4 issue 000.1 (Waid) - showcase of matt's compassion and impulsivity; probably one of the best attempts by ANY writer to capture what matt's radar sense is like

Spider-Man: Daredevil (Matthews) - kinda shows off the inherent Weirdness that comes with matts abilities, I love how this issue gives you a good glimpse at Matt and Ben Urich's relationship, and it really just hits the nail on the head for matts characterization while giving you enjoyable slice of life moments

Daredevil Volume 4 issues 11-12 (Waid) - again, shows off matt's compassion (that's his most admirable quality imo), shows him combating his pride so he can help others, and displays how his willingness to see the good in people can be used against him

Daredevil Volume 1 issues 609-612 (Soule) - imo the best dd arc ever written, right next to miller's tmwf. just. perfect, no notes. i tear up and get chills every time I read it. Ill cry thinking about it right now. it sums up everything matt is and represents as a character, the good and the bad, and i could gush about it all day

If I had to suggest any kind of reading order, save v1 #609-612 for last. it's called "the death of daredevil" for a reason. it's not gonna have nearly as much impact if you don't already know something about the character.

thank you so much for the ask!! I really enjoyed replying to it and I hope this was helpful :)

[positivelybeastly]

A Completely Unbiased and Totally Comprehensive Beast Reading List, Pt. 1

As a member of the first class of X-Men, the intelligently gifted Dr. Hank McCoy has been fighting for the peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans for most of his life, under the tutelage of Professor Xavier. Born with an enhanced physique, strength, and muscular structure, he has adopted the name Beast.

Well, hello there, friends! Welcome to a completely unbiased, totally comprehensive, not at all too long reading list that aims to show you the story of everyone's favourite Beast, from start to finish!

Origins

As one of the original X-Men, Beast features in almost every issue of the very first iteration of the team - but to put it bluntly, 60s X-Men sucks, and I want you to enjoy this character, so we're going to start with some aggressive curation.

X-Men Origins: Beast, by Mike Carey - a solo story that retells Hank's origins, including his pre-X-Men life, and an insight into his mindset, his relationship with humanity, and his first meeting with the X-Men. It also happens to have some rather lovely art, and a fantastic last page spread that expresses a lot of what makes Hank a brilliant character. X-Men: First Class, by Jeff Parker - a collection of mini-series that fill in the gaps between stories in the original run of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's X-Men, this run is extremely readable, and does a very good job of forming a cohesive characterisation of both Hank, the X-Men, and, particularly, Professor Xavier. You do not need to have any former knowledge of anything X-Men to read this run. Issues of Particular Note: (2006) #8; the meeting of Hank and Gorilla Man, who have a cute dynamic, and if you like Gorilla Man, you should read Agents of Atlas by Parker as well. (2007) #4; the foundation of Hank's friendship with Bobby Drake, aka Iceman. These two were thick as thieves all the way up until the late 00s. Giant-Sized Special; a collection of short fun little stories with varying art styles, featuring Hank on small solo adventures or in duos with the other X-Men. Finals #2; Hank deciding to leave the X-Men, and become his own man.

X-Men: Season One by Dennis Hopeless is a standalone graphic novel that aims to retell the early days of the X-Men from the perspective of Jean Grey, and features Hank fairly prominently. If you want to be more up to code on early X-Men history without dealing with issues of the 60s run, this would be a good place to do it.

And of course, Uncanny X-Men vol. 1. While I would not advise reading this run in its entirety, dipping your toe in to get some appreciation for what 60s comics were like and how far we've come isn't an awful idea. Issues of Particular Note: #7 Hank is momentarily abducted by a beatnik foot cult. No notes, this is just a funny situation that Hank ends up in. #8; one of the first instances of anti-mutant hysteria in an X-Men book, the first time Hank left the X-Men, and also the origin of his short career as a professional wrestler. #47; Hank and Bobby go on a double date with their girlfriends and get interrupted by superhero shenanigans.

Grey

With Hank having now left the X-Men, he has a rendezvous with destiny, and while this is going to be a very short period on our reading list, it's a very formative one for young Hank.

Amazing Adventures #11-17, by Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, and Arnold Drake. Honestly, just read this entire run - you basically get a very well contained story that delves into Hank at a very young age, and while this may be a series from the 1970s, it's actually surprisingly modern in its approach to Hank as a character. It's also interesting to see the introduction of a more horror/wolfman aspect to Hank's character, which is largely due to the contemporary popularity of Werewolf-by-Night. It all caps off with issue #17, which collects a number of back-up stories that originally came from Uncanny X-Men, that tell Hank's origin in its uncondensed form. If you started with Carey's Origins book, these story beats will be very familiar, but it's interesting to see what parts were cut and which were preserved.

A companion story that goes back and revisits this very interesting period of Hank's life can be found in X-Men Unlimited vol. 2 #10, as one of the two stories contained there. Sliding somewhere in between issues of Amazing Adventures, it provides a modern emotional context for Hank's transformation, and I feel obliged to warn you that this is a very heavy story. If stories about depression, radiation sickness, or familial death are triggering for you, approach with caution.

Avengers

As you may have noticed, Hank has now changed from grey to his more familiar blue! This is due to printing limitations of the time, where attempts to render black or grey often ended up producing a shade that looked closer to blue. But enough of that malarkey, let's talk about everyone's favourite Bouncing Baby Blue Beast!

Avengers vol. 1, by . . . so many writers, but the most significant include Jim Shooter, Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, David Michelinie, Bill Mantlo, etc. As the first X-Man to cross teams, Hank made history, and he quickly settled in nicely to the bitchy, high octane, absolutely bonkers world of 70s Marvel. Among other things, this is where he forms lifelong friendships with Carol Danvers, Steve Rogers, and, perhaps most importantly, Simon Williams. Honestly, this entire run has its ups and downs, but I'd recommend reading it from start to finish, just because it's fun, and Hank is so much fun in it. If you're more used to buzzkill Beast from the modern era, you'll be shocked at just how much of a kind-hearted goof he is here. Although, maybe skip the Korvac Saga. Issues of Particular Note: #137, which features Hank's initial tryout for the Avengers, with some story beats that will have particular resonance if you read Amazing Adventures or X-Men Unlimited, recommended above. #141, which sees the beginning of the origins of Patsy Walker, who you might know better as Hellcat, and who will become an important part of our story later. #148, which sees Hank embrace his disguise gimmick - while pretty much abandoned from this point on, it was arguably never going to get better than the trick he pulls here. Avengers Annual #6, which sees the origins of Hank and Simon's wonder-ful relationship. Whether you read them as friends or more, it really is a ton of fun to see just how quickly they glom onto each other as partners. #160 digs a little deeper into Hank's dynamic on the Avengers, and, if you aren't doing a full readthrough, this provides an interesting perspective on what Hank brings to the team, which is paid off in #163 and #164. Can you guess what it is? Yep . . . sex symbol. This is the origin of Hank McCoy, original mutant fuck machine, baybeeee. #171 sees Hank speaking Latin, being kind of a shit to Ms. Marvel, and being called a slut by Thor, which is kind of amazing, tbh. But Hank then proceeds to disappear for a bit, dodging the really rather awful Korvac Saga, so if you want to read more about our boy, you can jump right ahead to #178, where they make up for his brief absence by psychologically torturing him! Yeah! Love it! Next big issue of note is #188, where the Avengers get political, Hank gets to hold Ms. Marvel's laser gatling gun backpack, and press his nose against a plane window like a small child (it's better than I'm making it sound)! #194 has Hank at his best, to be quite honest, and is an all around nice little slice of life, quiet issue for the Avengers, for those of you who miss such things in comics. #206 features Hank speaking every language he knows for an entire issue, on . . . well, honestly, not even a dare, he just does it. #209, meanwhile is . . . heavy. Trigger warnings for the Shoah, the Holocaust, concentration camps, and a lot of dark subject matter, but it does showcase Hank at arguably his most heroic and his most tender. And then, finally, we reach the end of Hank's tenure with the Avengers, at #211, where . . . well, honestly? He leaves because his boyfriend is leaving. There's no other way to interpret it, that's just the text. He'll of course join the Avengers again, and is always active as a reservist, but for now, he's to move on to greener, more defensive pastures. In between these appearances, it's also worth checking out the absolutely iconic Dark Phoenix Saga. If you think you know this story from the adaptations in X-Men 3 or Dark Phoenix, trust me, you don't - this is the real story, as it should always have been. Hank only joins in on the story in the last third, but if you ever doubted his commitment to the X-Men, his friends, or the ideals of justice, look no further. And guess what, it's just a damned good story, starting at Uncanny X-Men #129 and going on to #138.

Hank also makes guest appearances in Uncanny X-Men #111 to #114, where he first properly meets the second generation of X-Men, though as you'll see, it's far from the most orderly or normal of introductions. For those of you who don't know about Chris Claremont and his predilections, you will learn - great writer, absolutely fundamental to the X-Men, but . . . hoo boy.

That's what I've got for you for the moment! I will be adding the next sections as separate posts, so that this doesn't get too long - feel free to check back here, or just keep your eyes peeled in the Hank McCoy tag, so that you don't miss the next section, as we move into the 80s proper! Also, I may be adding new issues here and there, as I remember things, so check back if you want to hear more about Beast's early years!

First || Next || Last

[sineala]

what are ur must read comics for tony ? i want to read more of him but idk where to start

Unfortunately, for Tony, unlike Steve, there isn't really a comic I can hand people and say "just read this if you want to start reading Iron Man comics and know where Tony came from and what Tony is like." (For Steve, this is Captain America: Man Out of Time.) There isn't a similar newbie-friendly retelling of Tony's origin story with modern art and a modern sensibility -- at least, not one that I would recommend, because Iron Man: Season One is… not set in 616 and is not a whole lot like like the events of canon.

(This took me very long to get around to, and in the meantime you might also like the more Tony-centric entries in my recent Steve/Tony comics recs post.)

So the answer to this question, I would say, depends on how familiar you are with comics in general, and specifically if you know you like reading older comics. Because comics nowadays are very different than older comics, and a lot of people who start reading comics now don't like the older comics when they try to go back to them. The art is different, and the style of narrative is different, and the pacing is different, and also the farther back you go the more likely you are to find something that is sexist and racist as fuck. Some of the early 60s stuff especially can be… not great. (Not that all modern comics are entirely free of this, but, like, I'd like to think that by now we've stopped publishing comics with literal yellowface.)

And the thing is that most of the classic, must-read storylines that I'd point to and be like "yeah, this is an important comic to read to understand Tony," well… they're all older comics.

But I'm recommending them anyway, and you can try a few to see if you like them. I'm putting the dividing point between old and new at the end of volume 1 (1996); some people will say that volume 3 (1998) is not modern enough for them, but I think the storytelling and pacing is modern enough that it should count.

Anyway, here's some volume 1 recs.

The classics:

Tales of Suspense #39: This is the first Iron Man comic. There are later retellings, but this is the original, so you might as well. He is wounded! He has to wear the chestplate forever in order to stay alive! I recommend one of the modern recolorings for, uh. Obvious reasons.

The Senate hearing arc (ToS #84): You should probably start a few issues before this, maybe around ToS #80, because the issues all just run into each other in one continuous storyline. If it turns out you like the extreme melodrama of ToS and you can handle the general Problematic nature of a lot of the plots (there will be more evil Communists than you can shake a hammer and sickle at), you can go back and read some of the other stuff, but this is the arc that is probably the most famous, because #84 is the issue where Tony testifies about the Iron Man technology at a Senate hearing and has a heart attack right there in the Senate.

Tony's first artificial heart (Iron Man #17-19): In case you're wondering when Tony stops having to wear the chestplate, it happens here, in an extremely bonkers arc where Tony makes an LMD of himself who promptly tries to replace him, meaning that Tony has to wander around sadly in the rain and jump his heart off a car battery. He is then kidnapped by people who think they are kidnapping the LMD to force him to do evil. This is actually Madame Masque. It all culminates in him suiting up in the Model 1 armor to fight the LMD in his newest armor, and the old armor doesn't have enough power to run the armor and his heart at the same time, so guess which one he picks. Anyway, he has a massive heart attack and gets an artificial heart implanted.

Demon in a Bottle (Iron Man #120-128): Skipping way way way ahead to the late 70s/early 80s, this is the arc that makes Tony an alcoholic, and it's a classic of the Layton/Michelinie run.

Doomquest (Iron Man #149-150): This is the arc that establishes Doctor Doom as a villain of Tony's, and features both of them time-traveling to Camelot. It's great. (Layton and Michelinie come back for a sequel in #249-250, and then a much later sequel to that in the miniseries Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, which is one of the absolute weirdest IM miniseries I have ever read and features Doom penetrating Tony with Excalibur.)

The second drinking arc (Iron Man #160-200): This is Denny O'Neil's run and it is, IMO, a much better storyline about Tony's alcoholism, and it is absolutely my favorite classic Iron Man storyline. But it also is definitely a comic from the 80s so you should decide if you're up for that kind of storytelling. This is the one where Tony starts drinking again and loses absolutely everything he has (his money, his friends, his home, being Iron Man) and lives on the streets and nearly dies, and then he works his way back up. This is also where Obadiah Stane comes from.

Armor Wars (Iron Man #225-232): Layton and Michelinie come back for a second run in the late 80s, and Armor Wars is pretty much universally agreed to be the highlight of their run. Tony starts stealing his technology back from villains using it for evil. Then he starts stealing it back from literally everyone, including the government, who is not real thrilled.

I realize there's like a hundred more issues of volume 1 but you can probably skip them. The early 90s were sure A Time for comics. Some of Len Kaminski's run has some good backstory, and if you read anything you will probably want to read #313, which is about Tony going to AA and talking about his childhood.

Then we've got the modern stuff. If you try the older stuff and bounce off the art style, I'd recommend Extremis, which most people find readable and has lovely art by Adi Granov, although admittedly I prefer Busiek's Iron Man run for its characterization of Tony.

You will note that there's about ten years here where I am only recommending miniseries and that's because I honestly don't believe there's been a really good Iron Man ongoing since the Knaufs left at the end of v4 and Duggan's current run. So that's, what, twelve years? It's been a long time since we've had good Iron Man comics.

(I will grudgingly additionally recommend Bendis & Maleev's International Iron Man, because I think it's a really good story about Tony searching for his biological parents, but you do NOT want to read any other storyline about Tony being adopted because the rest of them are… bad… and pretty much thoroughly establish that none of Tony's family, biological or adoptive, with the possible exception of Maria, ever cared about him in the slightest, so that's kind of a downer.)

Here are my slightly more recent picks:

Kurt Busiek's Iron Man run (Iron Man v3 #1-25): This is one of my favorite Iron Man runs and I would definitely recommend it as a starting point. Busiek's runs on Iron Man and Avengers (which he was also writing at this time) are basically love letters to The Way Comics Used To Be, so his Avengers run has the Avengers all living in the mansion and being friends (this is the last time they lived in the mansion), and his Iron Man run features Tony being a more updated version of the character he started out as, which is basically the fantasy of the ethical billionaire who sincerely wants to use all his money to do good in society and help people out. It's worth reading the first issue to see if you like it. I think it's really great. Also there's a lot of whump.

The rest of Iron Man v3: There are about 60 more issues of Iron Man in volume 3 after Busiek leaves the book, and they continue the same characterization even if not all of it is quite as good as Busiek. Highlights include the Sentient Armor arc (you have probably heard about the Sentient Armor), both DreamVision arcs (featuring Tiberius Stone), and even more whump with the arc Manhunt, in which Tony gets shot three times, poisoned, attacked with missiles, and then has to go fight the Mandarin, all while being on the run from the government because he's been framed for bombing an embassy and everyone hates him.

Extremis (Iron Man v4 #1-6): I would say that Extremis here is when Marvel really started to try to make Iron Man cool. This is a good jumping-on point for a few reasons -- it doesn't require you to know anything about anything, the art is pretty, and it recaps Tony's origin story in a way that will probably be a little more recognizable to MCU fans, plus Extremis would later be part of IM3. The thing about Extremis is that it actually gives Tony superpowers, which is either good or bad depending on how you feel about this; I will say that it's a massive departure from the way Tony has been written the entire rest of his existence, in that the fact that he is a regular human (occasionally with a lot of disabilities) is important to his storyline, and reading this as your very first Iron Man comic means you won't really be aware of how unusual this is for him.

The rest of Iron Man v4: This is kind of a conditional rec, as it really only makes sense to keep going in v4 if you're planning on reading Civil War, because the rest of v4 hinges on it. There's an arc that leads up to Civil War (Execute Program), then the Civil War tie-ins, then Director of SHIELD. DoS has some excellent angst for Tony, but it's also very much about him being the director of SHIELD -- he doesn't do his usual rich-person stuff. So if you want a run where he does the things you expect him to do, it's not that one.

Iron Man: Legacy: A miniseries consisting of two short arcs; for all that they're supposed to be set at specific points in canon, they're pretty readable and they've got some fun panels that you will often see reposted -- Tony on a winged horse with a lance, Tony falling right into a dumpster, an LMD of Tony dressed in a French maid outfit and painting Pepper's nails. It's cute.

Iron Age: Technically most of this takes place in the past but you don't need to know anything. Tony timetravels through his past and has some entertaining adventures with a bunch of random characters while trying to save the world which is ending and it's all his fault. Features a panel of Tony crying sadly in the rain and also him accidentally hitting on his past self.

Iron Man: Fatal Frontier: This one is so much fun. So much fun! This is a miniseries where Tony makes friends with a Soviet robot on the moon, becomes sheriff of the moon, plays all the parts in a heist, and defeats a villain by using hurt/comfort fanfic.

Any time Ryan North gets to write Tony: Ryan North studied computational linguistics and it shows. He's just really good at writing Tony as a great big nerd with a great big heart who always wants to do the right thing. I recommend all the Tony cameos in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, the issue of Marvel Comics Presents (#7) where Tony tries to punch the 2007 financial crisis, Darkhold Iron Man (if you like body horror; I can't read this), and the recent Secret Invasion miniseries.

Any time Jed MacKay gets to write Tony: He just really has a good read on Tony's attitude, and he's currently writing Avengers, where Tony is on the team; I'd also recommend his work on the Iron Man and Avengers 2021 (Infinite Destinies) annuals.

Gerry Duggan's current Iron Man run: This is literally the best Iron Man run I have read since I got into this fandom. He absolutely nails Tony's character AND he's done the reading, which means that my brain has been screaming AAAAAAAA nonstop since I read the last issue where Tony was heavily concussed and having several pages of flashbacks where he thinks he's still stuck in the blizzard from IM #182 and dying. AAAAAAAA.

Hope that helps!

[pleuvoire]

i've been reading every rising sun by jamila ahmed. it is a historically-grounded retelling of the story of shaherazade. i love the prose and the grounded attention to historical detail and it's emotionally compelling, i've been getting through a hundred pages at a time, it's an engaging read. and it's set during the islamic golden age which is one of my favorite eras of history to learn about. but it is in some ways not quite living up to my expectations. i was hoping there would be more political machinations because it is about shaherazade trying to keep the ruler who beheads all his wives placated during a time when the declining seljuk empire (which the main characters belong to) is under attack from the khwarazmian empire and the oghuz turks at the same time, and also all of them have to deal with the threat of the franks undertaking the third crusade. so for example, shaherazade considers letting the murderous malik she's married to ride off to jerusalem and die fighting against the european crusaders, but if she does that then the region she lives in might fall to the khwarazmids and oghuz, so she has to come with him to try to keep him alive. that sort of thing is fun, but there is a lot less of it over the course of 400 pages than i was hoping for, and more of it is devoted to shaherazade trying to keep on his good side so he doesn't kill her, especially when she starts crushing on this other guy and has to try to keep it hidden. i mean i understand because writing intricate politics is hard as shit. but also i'm a bit disappointed. oh well.

another aspect i'm disappointed in is the whole story thing. of the course the story of shaherazade is famous for how she kept herself alive by telling her husband compelling stories and leaving him in suspense. this was portrayed really well in the beginning but then the book became more about a bunch of other stuff happening and the storytelling started to feel more incidental. it still serves a role because every time he gets pissed at her for something else she's like "umm hey wanna hear the next part of the story i was telling?" and it distracts him but, idk, i was expecting it to be way more central to the plot. also, the stories themselves are not very compelling. they feel way too modern in their style and structure and the amount of detail involved and they don't have the same timeless enduring folkloric feel as the actual irl 1001 nights. i've been writing a lot of spiders jeremy fanfic lately and really having fun messing around with that fairytale storytelling style, so it disappoints me that the author couldn't be bothered to do that, or at least not very much. then again, replicating that kind of folkloric style is really hard. i'm reminded of how recently i was reading the first queen's thief book which is super good but every time the characters start telling a mythological story from their world i feel like "hmm... this is a bit too detailed... it just doesn't quite feel like real irl mythology..." but i feel like this book does an even worse job of landing the style and is barely even trying. oh well.

i guess it's not fair that i'm asking this book to both have more complex intricate politics and be more about the stories shaherazade tells. though i think you could pull it off with a lot of tight seamless plotting - that's one of my issues here, that the book is kinda rambling and loosey-goosey. but i would settle for one or the other, if the politics were more complex and intricate or if the stories took more of a central role and had more thought put into them i would be happier. anyway despite all those words i am enjoying this book for all the reasons i said above, it's a solid 4 out of 5 stars for me, i just really like going in-depth on the criticism front so i thought i'd make a post recording my thoughts. if you read all this congrats and thank you