#anti Derek landy

[pizzaboat]

I literally cannot believe one of the only children's book series to keep me hooked as a kid fell down the "marvel trap"

When they wanna make it a "cinematic universe"

But it's a book series, it already had a universe. It was fun. It was a *book series*

I'm not fucking joking when I say phase 2 was an awful idea.

Like, the protagonists are so poorly balanced.

Val is boring and depressed, and her girlfriend spawns as a cardboard cut out with no build up or resolution

But Omen is the worst mistake

Omen is sad pathetic boy with nothing good going for him and he's tanking his own life by having all the ambition of a sock puppet. He's got an annoying and self-centered best friend who's superficial habits makes you feel like there's some transphobia thrown in with that ignorance of the topic

All his classmates are boring. They could've been fun. Christ knows phase one characters could be fun. But nope.

There's never any thought put into the direction of Omen's life. He's like an afterthought because someone told Derek he had to put another kid in the book. Omen doesn't even do anything in Midnight except get his butt kicked when Alice gets kidnapped and stand there awkwardly the rest of the time

I'm not convinced Derek couldn't have thought of something else to do with him. Making the choice to never include him in a single adventure his brother had, was a bad idea

Because I get that it was supposed to be "omen is nothing like his brother, he lives a different life but he wants adventure to feel like his life has value"

But that could've been achieved in a much more effective way, with an adventure brother RIGHT beside him. And it would've given you a reason to give a shit about Auger since Omen whinges about him half the time

Why are the most important people in Omens life only mentioned in passing? I feel like I'm watching it all happen through a car door window

If you're gonna try and make a "cinematic universe" in a damn book series, you might wanna put more thought into your "other universe" or whatever

[mooncactus]

Listen I really want to do a massive review on SP when I’m done with nursing school and this is important. can you send me a source

Ooh that sounds INCREDIBLE. youve come to the right place lmao.

Here’s some audio stuff that doesn’t have time stamps but you may catch me in a generous mood and I’ll time stamp for you another day lol. Otherwise 1.8x speed is your friend.

Laura talks about valkyrie changing between ph1 and ph2 on the most recent podcast episode (“skulduggery pleasant is back”) and an earlier one (“guest star Ivy”) and says she much prefers phase 2 valkyrie.

In this video https://youtu.be/gwPSsv_uvBc?si=T4QFRk8HAYIjV7Ja I have it written as she said in this: “I hated phase 1 Valkyrie, she was so arrogant, but phase 2 Valkyrie is more agreeable (..) phase 1 Valkyrie was based off his friend Laura, and phase 2 Valkyrie is based off me.”

There’s this talk where Derek himself says Laura is the basis of valkyrie in ph2, says valkyrie is “a combination of my two Lauras” (previous Laura was his best friend and the focus of the dedication of dark days, for anyone not it the know)

[whimsylueur]

I’ve never drawn so mutherfuckin quick

[scarlet--wiccan]

Have you read the current avengers infinity comic that she’s in? If so what are your thoughts?

I assume you're asking about Wanda. The comic in question is called Avengers United, by Derek Landy and Marcio Fiorito, on the Marvel Unlimited app.

It's growing on me. The story was definitely very slow to start, and I felt like the action sequences were pretty boring. I have the same problem with a lot of the other vertical-scroll comics on Unlimited-- very little seems to actually happen in each issue. Fortunately, Avengers United appears to be set for a pretty long run, so Landy is able to ease into his story, the plot has definitely been picking up since the team left Earth.

We don't often see the Avengers really confront what it means for them to get involved in international-- or interplanetary-- affairs. Landy has definitely planted the seed of a what could be a compelling commentary on interventionism, and I feel like the situation with Ghesh and Yun-To may contain some very timely observations about fascism and occupation. It's too early to say whether or not Landy will actually commit to interrogating those topics, or just gloss over them in a genre-typical fashion.

As for Wanda herself-- there isn't much to say, because she's hardly done much of anything. Magic is a huge plot point in this comic, but Wanda hasn't had the opportunity to do any interesting magic or offer up any of her magical expertise yet, which is kinda frustrating. I'm hoping that will change when the team gets to Yun-To, but so far, the most she's really done is express frustration over the anti-magic wards that Gheshians use.

I do think it was a smart choice for Wanda to be one of the characters who sussed out the interment camps on Ghesh, and it was appropriate for her to express such outrage over them.

I also... kinda hate the way she looks-- Fiorito's art style isn't my favorite, and I can tell that a few of these issues were drawn in a rush, but more than that, Erick Arciniega's coloring tends to make her look gray and ashen. I can tell that they're trying to stay on model, but it just doesn't look great.

Is this anything? Is this funny?

[mysticscorpia]

🔍 What's been your biggest challenge in writing so far?

🖊 What do you write with? (Computer, paper, etc.)

📚 What are some books that have influenced your style?

🔍 What's been your biggest challenge in writing so far?

Wow, that's an interesting one. I think, is coming from a background of little faith, that the most of my life I've been able to live off cynicism. But with writing, I've had to have faith. That when I'm lost, I will find my way again through writing. That when I'm stressed, I'll find passion with it once more.

It's the realisation, that I feel half real without it, and that is one scary thing to deal with. How can one say, "they don't feel whole without writing"? You find that in books and media, where faith like that has foundation. But real life? That's where it gets difficult to justify.

So finding my faith in myself and keeping my faith in my passion for writing through hard times, is the thing I've struggled with the most!

🖊️ What do you write with?

Oooo, well, I mostly write with my computer now, as Google docs kept crashing on my phone, and I knew I actually needed to practice proper keyboard techniques on a computer!

On the odd occasion I'll jot stuff down on paper (such as when I go to my writing club,!) because I still want to be used to writing down things. You feel less comfortable otherwise!

(plus, it's more fun when you're feverishly writing with a fountain pen pretending you're a certain OG) 😂

📚 What are some books that have inspired your writing?

Wow, that's another unexpected question!

I think there's a lot, but I aim to make a shortlist: Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy (a skeleton detective series), is actually something that made me fall in love with urban fantasy. I think Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series (which is making untraditional takes with traditional fairy tales), made me fall in love with powerful heroines, who can still fall in love, and have agency (oh, and probably one of the first monster boyfriends I fell in love with too).

I think poetry has also influenced the more poetic side to my prose (but I don't know how it came to be!).

I also have The Magician's Guild (The Black Magician Trilogy), by Trudi Canavan, for my deep abiding love for tragic characters and the first character who struck me so hard I cried at the end (which definitely made me fall in love with anti-heroes forevermore!).

So, for literal inspiration for writing, I would say the book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, as both the quotes "to decrease the surplus population" and "dead as a doornail" can pop up in my writing!

Other than that, I'm not sure! I think it's easier to note books which have affected me, rather than my writing. Hence the examples above! Which, is a mix of two.

I loved your ask! Thank you!, 😋🙏💕

[lassieposting]

Remind me again what your take on Valkyrie Cain being a Faceless One all along was. I know it isn't good but I'm sure someone as thoughtful as you has a more analytical disdain to offer on the subject

[valkyriecain]

absolutely losing my mind over antis screaming that VALDUGGERY IS GROOMING ! NOOO, STOPPPPP when dereks girlfriend was literally a 17 year old fan when he met her at a signing lol. at least val and skul love each other and they're cool

[itsallaboutthebirds86]

Skulduggery Pleasant: Midnight not only features realistic LGBT characters and characters struggling with mental illness but also a scathing parody of Trump and an explicit call-out of anti-refugee protestors Derek Landy has stopped fucking around people and it’s beautiful

[south-flying-sparrow-archive]

had an idea

so i was going to make an faq post for people new to the fandom and put it into my bio, so people can be redirected to it, basically just questions with links to posts i'll make about the answer to each

these would be things like:

why do so many people hate derek landy?

who/what is [word starting with d] [word starting with l]

what is valdug?

what's phase two?

what's wrong with phase two?

please tell me more questions that you think i should add, but also i was going to make a list of hardcore valdugs and hardcore antis - basically a block list, for people who don't want to interact with a certain subgroup of people, hopefully to deter drama a little

if that's a really bad idea please lmk, and if you want to be added to a potential list/have questions DM me i guess?? i'll check back here in a couple hours

[hellyeahheroes]

You probably have heard by now that DC has killed DC Zoom, DC Ink and Vertigo imprints to consolidate publishing and replace imprints with separate age categories - DC Young Adult and DC Middle Grade being apparently just name changes for Ink and Zoom respectively, with Black Label remaining as their adult-oriented line and DC Universe being the main line still.

Some of things it means:

NO BOOK IS BEING CANCELLED

All Sandman Universe titles will continue under DC Black Label line. The Dreaming, House of Whispers, Books of Magic and Lucifer will keep going, just not under Vertigo label.

Creator-owned titles will be assigned to specific age groups but will also continue.

DC ink and Zoom books that have already been solicited will be published, other titles have been restructured to specific age group.

DC Middle Grade will still publishBatman: Overdrive, Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime, Diana: Princess of the Amazins and Green Lantern: Legacy in 2020 and will publish Superman Smashes the Klan in future

In fact, they have announced more titles for Middle-Grade books, including:

Anti/Hero – Written by Kate Karyus Quinn and Demitria Lunetta and illustrated by Maca Gil (April 2020)

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld – Written by Shannon and Dean Hale

ArkhaManiacs – Written by Art Baltazar and Franco and illustrated by Art Baltazar (April 2020)

Batman and Robin…and Howard – Written and illustrated by Jeffrey Brown

DC Super Hero Girls: Powerless – Written by Amy Wolfram and illustrated by Agnes Garbowska (March 2020)

Green Arrow: Stranded – Written by Brendan Deneen and illustrated by Caleb Hosalla

Indestructibles Book 1—Written by Ridley Pearson

Lois Lane – Written by Grace Ellis and illustrated by Brittney Williams

Metropolis Grove – Written and illustrated by Drew Brockington

The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher: A Johnny Constantine Graphic Novel – Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Derek Charm     

My Video Game Ate My Homework – Written and illustrated by Dustin Hansen (May 2020)

Primer – Written by Thomas Krajewski and Jennifer Muro and illustrated by Gretel Lusky

Super Sons Book 3: Escape to Landis – Written by Ridley Pearson and illustrated by Ile Gonzalez

Teen Titans Go! to Camp – Written by Sholly Fisch

Teen Titans Go! Roll with It – Written by Heather Nuhfer and P.C. Morrissey     -Zatanna & the House of Secrets – Written by Matthew Cody and illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani (February 2020)

Future DC Young Adult titles include books announced for 2020 - Gotham High, The Oracle Code, Shadow of the Batgirl, Lost Carnival: a Dick Grayson Graphic Novel and Wonder Woman: Warbringer - as well as already announced Teen Titans: Beast Boy and Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed.

There is also a large number of NEW books in Young Adult line, including:

Catwoman: Soulstealer – Adapted by Louise Simonson from Sarah J. Maas’ DC Icon prose novel and illustrated by Samantha Dodge

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star – Written by Jadzia Axelrod and illustrated by Cait Zellers

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star – Written by Jadzia Axelrod and illustrated by Cait Zellers

House of El Book 1 – Written by Claudia Gray and illustrated by Eric Zawadzki

I Am Not Starfire—Written by Mariko Tamaki

Mister Miracle – Written by Varian Johnson

Nubia – Written by L.L. McKinney and illustrated by Robyn Smith

Swamp Thing – Written by Maggie Stiefvater and illustrated by Morgan Beem   

Victor & Nora: A Mr. Freeze Story – Written by Lauren Myracle and illustrated by Isaac Goodhart

Whistle – Written by E. Lockhart and illustrated by Manuel Preitano 

 You Brought Me the Ocean – Written by Alex Sanchez and illustrated by Julie Maroh

 Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend – Written by Alys Arden and illustrated by Jacquelin De Leon 

Now, another matter entirely is what it means for Vertigo books. Black Label is a good initiative even if so far it has produced BatPenis and Republican Superman. However, the line was advertised as “ biggest creators and biggest characters” for adult-oriented stories. This is not what Vertigo was. Vertigo was always a publisher who was not afraid of taking risks and pushing the envelope, it changed comics in ways we still feel and changed them for the better. Books like Sandman, Hellblazer, Lucifer, Transmetropolitan, Fables, Shade the Changing Man are among the greatest titles of American comics and left a huge mark on the millions of fans and creators. Black Label is right now criticized for being too Batman-centric for its own good.

It is an end of an era but not one we didn’t see coming. The writing was on the wall since DC fired Karen Beger and took classic Vertigo characters like John Constantine and Swamp Thing and forced them back into the main DC line as a part of New 52. Vertigo never recovered from that hit. Ironically I suspect now Young Animal books will fall under Black Label. Including Doom Patrol, one of titles DC took away from Vertigo in the first place.

- Admin

[heroicadventurists]

New titles and new details on upcoming titles from DC's Young Adult and Middle Grade

Source: Newsarama

The offerings were revealed at the American Library Association (ALA)'s annual convention. During the "Book Buzz" panel Saturday in Washington, D.C., the publisher outlined their 2020-2021 releases for these two age groups.

DC has stressed that these are standalone stories, and not part of "DC's ongoing comic book continuity".

DC Kids' 2020 - 2021 line-up for Middle Grade readers are: 

Diana: Princess of the Amazons  Written by Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrated by Victoria Ying (January 2020)

Green Lantern: Legacy  Written by Minh Lê and illustrated by Andie Tong (January 2020)                       

Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime Written by Derek Fridolfs and illustrated by Dustin Nguyen (February 2020)

Zatanna & the House of Secrets Written by Matthew Cody and illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani (February 2020)         

Batman: Overdrive  Written by Shea Fontana and illustrated by Marcelo DiChiara (March 2020)

DC Super Hero Girls: Powerless  Written by Amy Wolfram and illustrated by Agnes Garbowska (March 2020)         

Anti/Hero  Written by Kate Karyus Quinn and Demitria Lunetta and illustrated by Maca Gil (April 2020)

ArkhaManiacs Written by Art Baltazar and Franco and illustrated by Art Baltazar (April 2020)

My Video Game Ate My Homework Written and illustrated by Dustin Hansen (May 2020)

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld Written by Shannon and Dean Hale

Batman and Robin…and Howard  Written and illustrated by Jeffrey Brown

DC Super Hero Girls – Written by Amy Wolfram

Dear Super-Villains  Written by Michael Northrop and illustrated by Gustavo Duarte

Green Arrow: Stranded  Written by Brendan Deneen and illustrated by Caleb Hosalla

Indestructibles Book 1 Written by Ridley Pearson

Lois Lane  Written by Grace Ellis and illustrated by Brittney Williams

Metropolis Grove  Written and illustrated by Drew Brockington

Primer  Written by Thomas Krajewski and Jennifer Muro and illustrated by Gretel Lusky

Superman Smashes the Klan  Written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Gurihiru

Super Sons Book 3: Escape to Landis  Written by Ridley Pearson and illustrated by Ile Gonzalez

Teen Titans Go! to Camp  Written by Sholly Fisch

Teen Titans Go! Roll with It Written by Heather Nuhfer and P.C. Morrissey

The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher: A Johnny Constantine Graphic Novel Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Derek Charm

Coming from the main DC line, here are the Young Adult titles through 2021:

Wonder Woman: Warbringer Adapted by Louise Simonson from Leigh Bardugo’s DC Icon prose novel and illustrated by Kit Seaton (January 2020)

Gotham High Written by Melissa de la Cruz and illustrated by Thomas Pitilli (February 2020)

The Oracle Code Written by Marieke Nijkamp and illustrated by Manuel Preitano (March 2020)

Shadow of the Batgirl  Written by Sarah Kuhn and illustrated by Nicole Goux (April 2020)

Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Graphic Novel Written by Michael Moreci and illustrated by Sas Milledge (May 2020)

Catwoman: Soulstealer  Adapted by Louise Simonson from Sarah J. Maas’ DC Icon prose novel and illustrated by Samantha Dodge

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star Written by Jadzia Axelrod and illustrated by Cait Zellers

House of El Book 1 Written by Claudia Gray and illustrated by Eric Zawadzki

I Am Not Starfire Written by Mariko Tamaki

Mister Miracle – Written by Varian Johnson

Nubia  Written by L.L. McKinney and illustrated by Robyn Smith

Swamp Thing  Written by Maggie Stiefvater and illustrated by Morgan Beem           

Teen Titans: Beast Boy Written by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Gabriel Picolo

Victor & Nora: A Mr. Freeze Story Written by Lauren Myracle and illustrated by Isaac Goodhart

Whistle Written by E. Lockhart and illustrated by Manuel Preitano

Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed  Written by Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrated by Leila del Duca

You Brought Me the Ocean  Written by Alex Sanchez and illustrated by Julie Maroh

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend  Written by Alys Arden and illustrated by Jacquelin De Leon

[geekcavepodcast]

DC Announces New YA and Middle Grade Graphic Novels

At the American Library Association convention DC announced new titles for its Books for Young Readers program focusing on young adults aged 13+ and middle grader readers aged 8-12. These graphic novels will be stand-alone stories. 

Young Adult titles for Spring 2020 include:

Wonder Woman: Warbringer, by writer Leigh Bardugo and artist Kit Seaton,coming in January 2020,

Gotham High, by writer Melissa de la Cruz and artist Thomas Pitilli, coming in February 2020,

The Oracle Code, by writer Marieke Nijkamp and artist Manuel Preitano, coming in March 2020,

Shadow of the Batgirl, by writer Sarah Kuhn and artist Nicole Goux, coming in April 2020, and   

The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Graphic Novel, by Michael Moreci and artist Sas Milledge, coming in May 2020.

Middle Grade titles for Spring 2020 include:

Diana: Princess of the Amazons, by writers Shannon and Dean Hale and artist Victoria Ying, coming in January 2020,

Green Lantern: Legacy, by writer Minh Lê and artist Andie Tong, coming in January 2020,

Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime, by writer Derek Fridolfs and artist Dustin Nguyen, coming in February 2020,

Zatanna & the House of Secrets, by writer Matthew Cody and artist Yoshi Yoshitani, coming in February 2020,

Batman: Overdrive, by writer Shea Fontana and artist Marcelo DiChiara, coming in March 2020,

DC Super Hero Girls: Powerless, by writer Amy Wolfram and artist Agnes Garbowska, coming in March 2020,

Anti/Hero, by writers Kate Karyus Quinn and Demitria Lunetta and artist Maca Gil, coming in April 2020,

ArkhaManiacs, by writers Art Baltazar and Franco and artist Art Baltazar, coming in April 2020, and

My Video Game Ate My Homework, by writer and artist Dustin Hansen, coming in May 2020.

Upcoming Young Adult titles (not all titles are final) for 2020 and 2021 include:

Catwoman: Soulstealer based on Sarah J. Maas’ prose novel and adapted by writer Louise Simonson and artist Samantha Dodge,

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by writer Jadzia Axelrod and artist Cait Zellers,

House of El Book 1 by writer Claudia Gray and artist Eric Zawadzki,

I Am Not Starfire by writer Mariko Tamaki,

Mister Miracle by writer Varian Johnson,

Nubia by writer L.L. McKinney and artist Robyn Smith,

Swamp Thing by writer Maggie Stiefvater and artist Morgan Beem,     

Teen Titans: Beast Boy by writer Kami Garcia and illustrated by Gabriel Picolo,

Victor & Nora: A Mr. Freeze Story by writer Lauren Myracle and artist Isaac Goodhart,

Whistle by writer E. Lockhart and artist Manuel Preitano,

Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed by writer Laurie Halse Anderson and artist Leila del Duca,

You Brought Me the Ocean by writer Alex Sanchez and artist Julie Maroh, and

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by writer Alys Arden and artist Jacquelin De Leon.

Upcoming Middle Grade titles (not all titles are final) for 2020 and 2021 include:

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld by writers Shannon and Dean Hale,

Batman and Robin…and Howard by writer/artist Jeffrey Brown,

DC Super Hero Girls by writer Amy Wolfram,

Dear Super-Villains by writer Michael Northrop and artist Gustavo Duarte,

Green Arrow: Stranded by writer Brendan Deneen and artist Caleb Hosalla,

Indestructibles Book 1 by writer Ridley Pearson,

Lois Lane by writer Grace Ellis and artist Brittney Williams,

Metropolis Grove by writer/artist Drew Brockington,

Primer by writers Thomas Krajewski and Jennifer Muro and artist Gretel Lusky,

Superman Smashes the Klan by writer Gene Luen Yang and artist Gurihiru,

Super Sons Book 3: Escape to Landis by writer Ridley Pearson and artist Ile Gonzalez,

Teen Titans Go! to Camp by writer Sholly Fisch,

Teen Titans Go! Roll with It by writers Heather Nuhfer and P.C. Morrissey, and

The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher: A Johnny Constantine Graphic Novel by writer Ryan North and artist Derek Charm.

These comics and more will presumable launch under DC Comics’ new DC Kids and DC labels.

(Images via DC Comics)

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 4 March 2019

Quick Bits:

A Walk Through Hell #8 gets creepier as Paul tells his story, raising huge questions of how deep a conspiracy may go to have covered up his brutal history. Garth Ennis, Goran Sudžuka, Ive Svorcina, and Rob Steen are delivering one hell of an atmospheric horror story with this series.

| Published by AfterShock

Amazing Spider-Man #16.HU is really another prelude to the “Hunted” event, but this one gets its branding and special interstitial “.HU” suffix, from Nick Spencer, Iban Coello, Edgar Delgado, and Joe Caramagna. This issue follows Black Cat as she is sent to free the Owl from Taskmaster and Black Ant to square things away with Hammerhead. It does a good bit to redeem Felicia’s behaviour of recent years, explaining exactly why she’s more or less been acting out of character as a hardened criminal kingpin.

| Published by Marvel

Astro Hustle #1 is a pretty good start to this space opera from Jai Nitz, Tom Reilly, Ursula Decay, and Crank! It reminds me a lot of Barbarella crossed with Sword of the Swashbucklers, mixing space and pirates with some oblique sociopolitical commentary. Also maybe a bit of The Incal. This issue largely introduces us to Chen Andalou (yeah, I’m not sure if there’s a significance to the Un Chien Andalou reference) and the band of pirates he falls in with and it’s rather entertaining. Reilly’s art reminds me a bit of Moritat, Goran Parlov, and Goran Sudžuka and it works very well for the story.

| Published by Dark Horse

Avengers #16 continues the war of the vampires. I really like the new design for Ghost Rider from David Marquez. It’s more in line with how Vengeance used to be portrayed and the flame and shadow from Marquez and Erick Arciniega really works for a harder edged version of the character.

| Published by Marvel

Avengers: No Road Home #4 sees Sean Izaakse and Marcio Menyz begin their three issues handling art duties and it’s gorgeous. Like Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco, and Jesus Aburtov for the first three issues, the artists are really giving this story their all and delivering some incredible artwork. Great layouts and panel compositions as we get to see Nyx’s own side of the story.

| Published by Marvel

Batman #66 resumes “Knightmares” with an issue of the Question trying to get to the bottom of Selina leaving Bruce at the proverbial altar. Illustrated by Jorge Fornés, with colours from Dave Stewart, it leans hard into Year One imagery to begin with, evoking David Mazzucchelli, and just goes through Selina’s history with Bruce from there.

| Published by DC Comics

Black Hammer ‘45 #1 expands the Black Hammer universe out further with the addition of a Blackhawks analogue, along with nods to Enemy Ace and Rocket Red, from Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes, Matt Kindt, Sharlene Kindt, and Marie Enger. There’s a compelling mystery set up across the present and the past regarding the Black Hammer Squadron’s final mission and the art from the Kindts is gorgeous.

| Published by Dark Horse

The Black Order #5 concludes the series focusing on Ebony Maw’s betrayal, the end of the Grandmaster’s game, and Carlos Magno, Scott Hanna, Jay David Ramos, and Dono Sánchez-Almara providing the artwork. This has been an interesting series, telling a relatively simple story of the Black Order executing a contract to topple the Sinnarian Emperor, but Derek Landy has been telling it through issues each largely from the viewpoint of each of one of the members of the Black Order. It’s been a good insight into what makes these villains tick.

| Published by Marvel

Blossoms 666 #2 continues to be an entertaining read from Cullen Bunn, Laura Braga, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli. This chapter lightly deals with the fallout from the disappearance of Ethel and Reggie, while setting up Betty to investigate. The story is definitely taking a slow burn approach, but it’s quite compelling. The horror of a devil cult infiltrating a small town vibe going on is wonderful. 

| Published by Archie

Champions #3 goes in a few directions as the new bigger team get some training in, an enemy from Sam’s past comes calling, Dust apparently didn’t get sucked into the Age of X-Man and is dealing with anti-mutant hysteria, and Miles is racked with guilt over his decision. I love the layers that Jim Zub is adding to the script and the art from Steven Cummings, Marcio Menyz, and Federico Blee captures the youthful action very well.

| Published by Marvel

Conan the Barbarian #4 might be my favourite issue of this series yet with glorious guest art from Gerardo Zaffino, evoking memories of his father’s work on Savage Sword, and presenting a gritty, visceral, and dark tale of King Conan alongside Jason Aaron, Matthew Wilson, and Travis Lanham. The idea of Conan becoming sick over peace is humorous and there’s a wonderful nod to the Punisher.

| Published by Marvel

The Curse of Brimstone #12 brings the series to an end with a final confrontation between Brimstone and a member of the “home office”, Infernal. The revelations about who Infernal is a twisted alternate version of is interesting, as well as their means of ingress into the regular DCU. The series also goes out with a bang with the very impressive artwork from Denys Cowan, John Stanisci, and Rain Beredo. Cowan is a legend and that shines through in this final arc. I do hope, though, that we see Brimstone and the effects of this series pop up somewhere else in the DCU in the future. 

| Published by DC Comics

Deadly Class #37 continues “Never Go Back” with the spotlight shifted back to Quan and Kenji, bringing back Saya in a pretty big way. The action in Wes Craig’s artwork (with colours from Jordan Boyd) is pretty much peerless.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Deathstroke #41 serves as a prelude to the “Terminus Agenda” crossover with Teen Titans, with Slade a fugitive in Gotham, trying to figure out the reason behind one of his recent contracts, from Christopher Priest, Fernando Pasarin, Cam Smith, Sean Parsons, Jeromy Cox, Carrie Strachan, and Willie Schubert. There are some interesting mysteries being set up here, even as Slade is being targeted.

| Published by DC Comics

Die #4 is another brilliant issue from Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles. The depth of the storytelling, character and world building, and overall narrative is staggering in this series. The amount of thought and attention to detail that seem to have gone into constructing the story is just amazing, as what feels like a fully-realized fantasy world cognizant of itself comes tumbling out.

| Published by Image

Eclipse #13 begins the final arc of the series, from Zack Kaplan, Giovanni Timpano, Flavio Dispenza, and Troy Peteri. If the spark lit in this issue is any indication, it looks as if the series is going to end in fire with a lot of death.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Giant Days #48 gives us that rare issue also illustrated by John Allison, I think for the first time since the original series, for a wedding. Very funny look at some of Susan’s hang-ups and Daisy confronted by possible feelings for Esther.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / BOOM! Box

The Girl in the Bay #2 gets weirder as the younger Kathy navigates, from her perspective, the future. Melting doppelgangers, creepy old guys that killed you, ghosts of rock and roll legends, and flat screen televisions stymie her as the mystery deepens. This is some intriguing stuff from JM DeMatteis, Corin Howell, James Devlin, and Clem Robins.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

The Green Lantern #5 is more glorious madness from Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp, Steve Oliff, and Tom Orzechowski. Easily one of my favourite things to read every month. This issue dives headlong into Hal’s test of recruitment to the Blackstars, a trial of having to survive a gauntlet across the vampire planet, Vorr. Though definitely part of a larger narrative, I’m still impressed by how this series is being constructed through largely satisfying, mostly self-contained stories. And, of course, the astounding artwork from Sharp and Oliff. There’s also some wonderful vampire Easter eggs in this one.

| Published by DC Comics

Immortal Hulk #14 is one hell of an issue, burying Thunderbolt Ross (again) and giving us the reunion of Bruce and Betty. All with glorious guest art from Kyle Hotz, delivering some of his best artwork pretty much ever. Dark, moody, and evocative. This is a big one, once again underlining how sick, twisted, and downright evil General Fortean and the forces hunting Bruce really are, even if they’re supposedly the “good guys”.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League #19 begins the “The Sixth Dimension” arc from Scott Snyder, Jorge Jimenez, Alejandro Sanchez, and Tom Napolitano, as the League tries to get help from Mr. Mxyzptlk in regards to the broader problems with the Source Wall, Perpetua, and the nefarious plans of the Legion of Doom. Interesting bits of humour in this issue, especially since the end moments give us a rather dark turn.

| Published by DC Comics

Killmonger #5 concludes what has been an excellent series reintroducing a movie-influenced Killmonger back into the Marvel universe from Bryan Hill, Juan Ferreyra, and Joe Sabino. This finale shows just how brutal and calculating he can be when exacting revenge.

| Published by Marvel

Morning in America #1 is the debut of a new ‘80s teen horror drama from most of the Kim & Kim team of Magdalene Visaggio, Claudia Aguirre, and Zakk Saam, with Aguirre providing full illustrations on this series not just colours. It’s good, setting up our lead characters nicely and presenting a compelling mystery for the disappearances of the children.

| Published by Oni Press

Oberon #2 launches Bonnie on her quest, first testing her with a labyrinth, while Oberon and his man-servant deal with some complications. I’m loving the artwork from Miloš Slavković, who is proving equally as adept with fantasy as he does with the sci-fi of Lightstep.

| Published by AfterShock

Red Sonja #2 is a bit more traditional in its approach than the first issue subverting some of the conventions of sword and sorcery, but is no less entertaining as Sonja prepares to defend Hyrkania from the Zamoran invaders. Mirko Colak’s art makes it seem like he was born to draw this sort of adventure.

| Published by Dynamite

Ronin Island #1 is an entertaining debut from Greg Pak, Giannis Milonogiannis, Irma Kniivila, and Simon Bowland, featuring an island of survivors who think they’re the only remnants left from the collapse of the Japanese shogunate. Great art from Milonogiannis and Kniivila, along with a very interesting twist as a cliffhanger.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Self/Made #4 makes another turn as Rebecca manages to “fix” Amala’s data files and brings her programming online in the real world. I love what Mathew Groom, Eduardo Ferigato, Marcelo Costa, Mariana Calil, and Troy Peteri are doing with this series. It’s very good sci-fi, populated with some compelling characters, and raising some important questions about self-determination, creation, and the purpose of life.

| Published by Image

The Six Million Dollar Man #1 is a rather light-hearted take on the franchise from Christopher Hastings, David Hahn, Roshan Kurichiyanil, and Ariana Maher (with special thanks to Zack Davisson). Nice bits of humour in the start to this spy thriller.

| Published by Dynamite

Star Wars #62 begins “The Scourging of Shu-Torun” and what I believe is the final arc from Kieron Gillen. This issue is largely a gathering of the team, with Leia laying out the plan for the regular crew and then going on a recruitment drive of many of the faces that we’ve seen throughout Gillen’s run

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Republic - Padmé Amidala #1 is another one-shot set during the Clone Wars, from Jody Houser, Cory Smith, Wilton Santos, Walden Wong, Marc Deering, Java Tartaglia, and Travis Lanham. It briefly touches on Padmé’s relationship with Anakin, but largely deals with attempting to secure a partnership with an unaligned world for the Republic. Things naturally don’t go as well as planned.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Vader - Dark Visions #1 begins a mini-series written by Dennis Hallum and illustrated by different artists per issue, essentially giving us standalone stories from different perspectives on Darth Vader. This first one is from Paolo Villanelli and Arif Prianto, lettered by Joe Caramagna, and is told from the perspective of an inhabitant of an unnamed world that’s been ravaged by a kaiju. It’s a different take on Star Wars, but the art is wonderful.

| Published by Marvel

Vampirella vs. Reanimator #3 sees things get significantly worse for the planet as Herbert West enables Mictecacihuatl’s and Vampirella raises her husband to try to stop her. Things don’t exactly go to plan. I’m still loving the black and white art with spot colours from Blacky Shepherd, it really gives the series a unique visual feel.

| Published by Dynamite

Vindication #2 complicates thing a lot more, delving into Chip’s past and revealing that there’s definitely something shady about Turn, though there are hints that whatever problems he’s got himself in it might be due to protecting his criminal brother. MD Marie, Carlos Miko, Dema Jr., Thiago Goncalves, and Troy Peteri are doing a great job of creating a compelling crime story here, showing that pretty much no one in this story is squeaky clean.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Witchblade #12 closes out this arc, mostly, and sets up a new world as a spell to get them out of their predicament goes awry. Though this story continues to move at a relatively slow pace, Caitlin Kittredge, Roberta Ingranata, Bryan Valenza, and Troy Peteri are still delivering a compelling, engrossing story as they build Alex’s rapport with the Witchblade and throw some unique complication at her.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Young Justice #3 gives us a touching reunion of Impulse and Superboy, before explaining how Conner got to Gemworld. It still doesn’t explain anything about why these pre-Flashpoint variations (other than a possible hint that Superboy isn’t “our” Superboy, although it’s presented in such a way that it seems more like in-story misdirection), but it’s still entertaining. Brian Michael Bendis, Patrick Gleason, Viktor Bogdanovic, Jonathan Glapion, Alejandro Sanchez, Chris Sotomayor, Hi-Fi, Carlos M. Mangual, and Josh Reed continue to slowly tease out the main plot on Gemworld while giving character-specific flashbacks.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Other Highlights: Cemetery Beach #7, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #5, The Dreaming #7, Female Furies #2, From Hell: Master Edition #4, Gasolina #16, GI Joe: A Real American Hero Yearbook 2019, Kill 6 Billion Demons - Volume 3, Meet the Skrulls #1, Night’s Dominion: Season 3 #4, Noble #16, Paper Girls #26, Unnatural #8

Recommended Collections: Avengers - Volume 2: World Tour, Curse Words - Volume 4: Queen Margaret, Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman, Fantastic Four - Volume 1: Fourever, Justice League Dark - Volume 1: The Last Age of Magic, The Last Siege, Polar - Volume 0: Black Kaiser, Star Wars: Ewoks, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl - Volume 10: Life is too Short, Squirrel Girl, The Wicked + The Divine - Volume 8: Old is the New New, Xerxes

d. emerson eddy has seen the rise and fall of kings.

[hapalopus]

The truth of the matter is that Darren Shan is Irish. All Irish authors do that, and it’s brilliant for us! Have you read the Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain series by Derek Landy? He’s friends with Darren and Eoin Colfer as well, and he has similar scenes of violence throughout, while also being a brilliant book series. Like the anti-Harry Potter.

I tried to read Skulduggery a few years back, but it was at a point in my life where I just could not finish a back if my life depended on it. Some day I’ll probably pick it up again.

I love The Bartimaeus Sequence which has kinda the same vibe the Skulduggery seems to have. Meaning snarky as hell :3

[lassieposting]

Bit late and random but it's the anon you leave food out for here to give away I am also bi and I think exactly the same as you about bi val pretty much, every time Derek offers me representation my reaction is to slowly, hesitantly take it and say "thaaaaaaaaanks..." while rolling my eyes, in much the same way one accepts their least favourite flavour of sweet from an annoyingly enthusiastic uncle-type-individual. Ironically I feel I had more in common with her before the bi shit started up.

What I find really amusing is that Landy actually did reasonably well at representation when (and only when) he wasn’t trying. 

Oh god, this got long, anon, my ass rambled.

tldr; I'm glad actual bi people dislike bi val (or how Laundry handled bi val) as much as me, this will probably offend at least one person but i don't really care, Dirty Laundry wrote better rep when he didn't mean to write rep at all, and if he ever starts trying to "represent" groups I'm part of I'll take him out back like a dying horse and shoot him.

Like, yes. He had stupid and potentially offensive shit - I say potentially because what offends one member of a group won’t necessarily offend all of them. His attitude to mentally ill people is, frankly, disgusting. We’ve had “Skulduggery can’t be abused, he doesn’t have feelings”. We’ve had “eVeRyOnE iS bI eVeNtUaLlY”. We had Ping, who seemed to be pretty much universally offensive. And that's what's always going to happen when a straight, cis, white, wealthy, male author tries to write marginalised groups he doesn't know shit about, because inevitably he's going to fall back on stereotypes.

But we also had:

SEXUALITY REP: Phase One's nonstraight characters were treated like the straight ones, and like, isn't that the whole point? There was no need for a massive Coming Out Story TM to grab for those sweet sweet Woke Points, because sexuality isn't supposed to be important to mages. I never understood why Val needed that whole Coming Out Panic storyline. Like...Des and Melissa are ridiculously supportive, encouraging, loving parents. They accepted you dating a ~19 year old when you were ~16. They accepted you revealing you could do fucking magic and that you'd been lying to them for like seven years. They took your undead buddy in stride and the most pressing question your dad had was whether magic toilets exist. There is zero reason to think that "I'm bisexual" is gonna be the thing that makes them flip and throw you into the streets in disgrace, Valkyrie. Come on.

Tanith had girlfriends and it was just mentioned casually, because it's normal.

China had massive UST with Eliza. That was an opportunity right there to not only include a f/f relationship, but also to bring back one of the few precious surviving characters from Phase One, using characters and a relationship that already had several books' worth of setup and tension and interest from fans.

The Monster Hunters have a casual conversation about which one of the Dead Men they'd date.

Ghastly has a conversation with Fletcher about the pain he's been through being in love. He never uses any pronouns.

It was confirmed at one point re: the Dead Men that at this point, after 300-odd years, everyone's been with everyone else at some point.

Thrasher is gay, and while Scapegrace's...everything...is treated as a joke/comedic relief, Thrasher's love for him isn't. He's completely devoted to Scapegrace, and that in itself is not played for laughs, even though the rest of the scene usually is. Thrasher's description of their first meeting is essentially a love-at-first-sight situation for him.

"ABNORMAL" RELATIONSHIP REP: Age gap relationships are normal for mages. Off the top of my head, using only canon, canon-implied or almost-canon ships:

Ghastly/Tanith (~350 year age difference)

Tanith/Sanguine (~250+ year age difference)

Tanith/Saracen (~350 year age difference)

Caisson/Solace (~250 year age difference)

China/Gordon (~400 year age difference)

Kierre/Temper (~500+ year age difference)

If you include fan ships, there's also things like Mevolent/Serpine or my Mevolent/Vile, which are both ~600 year minimum age gaps based on the timeline, or Valdug (and its variations) which is ~400 years.

Now, whether you consider this kind of rep positive or negative is up to you, but it’s there.

MENTAL ILLNESS REP: more like "Which characters in this series don't have a mental illness or a personality disorder?" I have some of these issues, but not all of them, so this is just how I read it, but:

ADHD: Skulduggery

Dissociative Identity Disorder: Skulduggery & Vile

Dissociation: Skulduggery again, most notably in DD and DB

Schizophrenia (or similar): Valkyrie & Darquesse, Valkyrie "seeing" Darquesse's ghost thing in Phase Two

Impostor Syndrome: Reflectionie

Autism: Clarabelle

Trauma/PTSD/CPTSD: Skulduggery, Valkyrie, China, Ghastly, Erskine...pretty much everyone has a believable, understandable, morally grey trauma response in this series. People struggling with trauma are spoilt for choice of characters to see themselves in.

TRAUMA REP: This series is a trauma conga line, but everyone has a believable, understandable, morally grey trauma response in this series. I see little bits of myself in more than one Phase One character.

Childhood Abuse (of varying degrees & types): Skulduggery, Carol & Crystal, Omen, Fletcher, Ghastly, China, Bliss, Sanguine...

Estranged Family: Skulduggery abandoning his crest, Fergus & Gordon, China & Bliss

Bad Romantic Relationship: Skulduggery is also very clearly an abuse victim. He’s got a solid history of romantic attachments to women who manipulate, use and gaslight him for their own agendas.  There's a whole paragraph in SPX about how Abyssinia broke him down, isolated him from his friends and preyed on his desperate need to be loved, all classic abuse tactics.

And I’m personally a huge fan of this backstory for two reasons:

1) Society likes a plucky victim in media. The "My suffering made me stronger" type of victim. And it's not always like that in real life. Not all survivors come out of their abuse stronger or kinder or more understanding. Some of us come out cold and fucked up. Some of us end up as emotionally stunted, bloodied-nails-and-bared-teeth survivors, broken in ways that can't be fixed and sustained by enough rage to power a small sun. But society doesn't like to tell the story of that kind of survivor, because we're not usually a likeable protagonist. When we're shown in media, we're usually the sympathetic villain, or maybe the antihero. But Skug is someone who's done awful things and lost pretty much all his faith in humanity and been burned more times than he can count, and he still makes the conscious choice to try and be the good guy when he could so easily go Evil Supervillain on the world, and I don't know about any of y'all, but I've modelled myself on him in that. I've made the choice to do something good when all I really want to do is just become a horrible, shrivelled ball of nastiness and revenge. And that's because I saw him do it and realised that I could do that too.

Skug is an incredibly capable, strong, masculine Man's Man. He gets in fights all the time, and he usually wins. He's military, an industry that's Really Bad for stigmatizing weakness and mental illness, and he's right up at the top of the hierarchy. Almost everyone is afraid of him. He's a straight up cold-blooded killer. Skulduggery Pleasant is precisely the type of person who's not normally portrayed as a victim of anything. Nothing about him screams "victim" at all. But his abuse history is insidious. He's so conditioned to respond in a certain way to abuse from the women in his life, probably from a very young age, that despite all that strength and capability and stubbornness and ego, he just goes along with it. And it's an established pattern going back hundreds of years. He keeps going back to China, even though he knows she's bad for him and his friends keep telling him to stay away from her. Abyssinia latched onto him when he was traumatized and vulnerable and weaponized it against him to make him easier to control - and when she reappears, hundreds of years later, she jumps straight back into using, tmanipulating and gaslighting him and not only does he let her, he doesn't even seem to realise that behaviour is abusive. He thinks it's normal! That's how he's always been treated by his long-term girlfriends, with the notable exception of Wifey. Even when Val is being fucking nasty to him in the first couple books of Phase Two, sniping and lying and blaming him for everything under the sun, he just takes it. There's no attempt to tell her she's being unreasonable, no telling her to fuck right off and give her head a wobble, no defending himself even when she's bitching over something that isn't even his doing. And this is a man who has an absolutely gleaming steel spine the rest of the time; Skug has no problem saying no to anybody else, but he can't get past the way he's been taught to treat the important ladies in his life. Skug is a walking reminder that anyone can be a victim of abuse, even the ones who seem least likely to be susceptible.

GENDER REP: This one is the most iffy out of the bunch and definitely was not done very well in the eyes of the people who matter most, but I'll include it anyway because it mattered to some.

So there's Nye, who's...agender? Genderless? And uses "it" pronouns? Nye was generally considered horrible rep because it's also a war criminal and experiments on people and I've seen people say "Well I don't want to be seen like that" but? It's still possible to be a war criminal and also genderless. I never saw the two things as being related or relevant to each other.

There's also Mantis, who's in exactly the same gender/pronouns boat as Nye and always seems to be forgotten about, which sucks because Mantis is a war hero. It fought for the Sanctuary during the War and they never lost a battle when it was in command. It's called out of retirement to fight for the Supreme Council in LSODM, ends up fighting alongside Skulduggery during the Battle of Roarhaven, and ultimately dies attempting a very brave, very risky strategy. Mantis is, unreservedly, one of the good guys. It was also my introduction to sentient beings using "it" pronouns, and did it in a way that felt natural, so when I met my first person online who used "it" pronouns and hated to be referred to as he/she, it was...weird, but not as weird as it would otherwise have been, because I was like, "Oh yeah, like the Crenga. Okay."

And then there's the Scapegrace sex change plotline, which...I might have an unpopular opinion on this one. From what I’ve seen, trans people don’t seem to think was handled well or with any sensitivity at all. I’m not trans, so if the trans community says he was being offensive to them, I’m not going to claim otherwise. But...I first read the Scapegrace plotline as a young teenager in a tiny rural school with zero diversity, going through a period of being deeply confused about my own gender identity. He was more or less my first introduction to the idea that genitals =/= gender. I was relieved, at that point in my life, to read someone having a lot of the same thoughts I was having about being in the wrong body. So while it may have been badly done and yeah, the series would probably have been better without it, it did make at least one kid suspecting she might not be cis go “Huh! So there are other people who feel like this.”

Thrasher is also implied to be legitimately trans/gender-questioning, and that's not played for laughs either.

So? Phase One, while it absolutely had faults and issues and things that were just "Oh god why", was actually full of rep, at least compared to the other series that I read as a child/teen. But? As soon as Dirty Laundry started trying to be woke? He fucking sucks ass at it. Aside from confirming Phase One's hints that Skug has a background of abusive relationships, every single attempt at shoehorning rep into Phase Two is Bad.

The painfully OOC, forced, badly-written awkwardness of Val suddenly being rabidly horny for women out of fucking nowhere. The stilted, forced cringiness between her and any of the women she's flirted with - contrast that with Sorrowscorn's interactions, full of natural chemistry that had us all like 👀 I mean, I never shipped Val/Melancholia, but I could always see why people did - they had miles more chemistry than Val/anyone in Phase Two.

The fucking mess that is v*litsa, because if someone says "I'm really not interested in friendships/relationships right now", clearly the route to true love is to bulldoze their boundaries and forcibly insert yourself into their life and proceed to treat them like a delicate soft uwu flower, completely ignoring the horrible things they've done, while gleefully damning their best friend as an irredeemable monster for the exact same things, which is. You know. Gonna affect your so-called love's self-confidence and self-esteem because she knows she's no different to him. Y'all know I love an angsty ship, an unhealthy ship, a ship with fucked power dynamics, but I literally cannot roll my eyes any further back in my head at this shit. I never read Demon Road, but from what I've heard from friends who did, it does seem like every time Laundry tries to write an f/f ship, he comes up with a cringey abusive/manipulative caricature and tries to call it rep, and he needs to Stop.

Val's Mental IllnessTM arc. It's funny how he wrote Skulduggery as a wonderfully complex character with deep-rooted psychological damage and long-lasting trauma, but believes he wrote a character with "no feelings" - but when he tries to delve into the damage the world of magic has done to Val, he turned her into a weak, whiny drug addict who treats everyone around her like garbage and is so selfish and dislikeable that I? Honestly can't even reconcile Phase Two val with Phase One val. They're two completely different people. He's shown on Twitter that he doesn't have any respect for mentally ill people, and it shows. Other mentally ill people might see it differently, but the whole thing just makes me go "yikes".

Never, who has no personality outside of being genderfluid, and whose pronouns make no sense. I'm sorry, I have never met an nb person who insists that you change from male to female pronouns multiple times in a sentence, every time you refer to them. It's confusing as fuck. Now I have been told that Never has apparently received some character development in the last couple books, and if so, fair play, but I quit reading after Midnight, and Never and the rest of the personality-less new characters introduced in Phase Two who just seemed to be 2D Stereotypes to snag Woke Points were a big part of why, so. Development too late, I'm afraid.

(Now, if anyone is looking for a well-written genderfluid character, I recommend the Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb. I have a lot of issues with her as a writer, and unfortunately I hate her POV character which puts me off the series as a whole, but she wrote the Fool/Amber/Lord Golden and their gender identity/approach to sexuality with so much more respect and realism. That is the kind of rep nb people should be getting: 3D, complex, realistic characters whose gender is only a tiny fragment of their personality, not the be-all-and-end-all of their existence. You know. Like cis people get. Nobody wants to be represented by a 2D cardboard cutout stereotype.)

Anyway idk how much sense this makes it just really amuses me that Laundry would include all this rep completely unintentionally and then go on Twitter and remind us all that actually he's a massive asshole via insensitive/offensive tweets about the groups he'd actually done a fair job of including (i.e. Skulduggery has no feelings, mentally ill people should find another series to read, the bullshit about Val being "heteromantic bisexual" on Twitter and then spouting all the "the woman she loved uwu" shit in the books (proving he has no idea what he's talking about), eVeRyOnE iS bI eVeNtUaLlY. He can only write half-decent rep when he's not trying and he inevitably outs himself as having a really shitty attitude towards those people anyway, proving that ultimately it's all either unintentional rep or performative wokeness.

[acandletoguide]

Words and binding! :)

Ahh, thanks for asking^^

Words: What book made you love reading?

I am not quite sure, but I would say that one “learning how to read” book. When I was in first grade, I had problems to learn reading. My father got me a book whose text was interrupted every now and then by pictures illustrating the word which should actually be there. We worked at reading with this book all the time until I could finally read without any problems. It didn’t make me love reading, not exactly, but it helped me to learn how to read. And, afterwards, I never stopped^^

(I still have this book! It’s wonderful.)

Binding: If you could give any book to a loved one, what would it be and why?

The Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy. Because it is amazing.* Because it’s my favourite. Because it means so much to me. Because it made twelve-year-old me prioritise writing again and made me understand what kind of stories I wanted to tell.

*There is action, there is humour. It can be dark and bloody, but heartwarming and sweet too. There are badass/kickass girls! Anti-heroes. Murder cases. The end of the world as we know it. Character development to the sort of side characters who usually never get any development. No one is safe. The protagonists are investigative partners and the best of friends and their friendship is everything. There is romance in it, but it’s not very prominent when it’s there. The series shows how damaged you can get when you get thrown into a strange, magical world with twelve. The latest instalment (book 10) introduced a homosexual married couple who are happy and not judged and not reduced to “just those token gay husbands over there.” It also introduced a genderfluid character who is again not judged for being genderfluid! There is sibling love; there are betrayals; there is diversity; the portrayal of war is on point.

It makes you smile, cry. It warms your heart, it breaks it. It brings you to the edge.

I love this series so much.