#do a serious illustration one and then another one collecting the comic type things. i can do whatever i want...........

[cieranshippyfmp2]

CHILDREN BOOK COVERS / ADULT

How does the font and layout of both styles of book impact expectations on whether or not we would read it. In my opinion type really matters over how it presented in colour wise, how goofy or serious it looks with font styles and with the designs of the book itself being either very graphically or not showing as much design to seem or appear more serious, however this can also work the other way too, with kids book taking a much more darker edge and adult books taking more childish route, which is interesting to note.

Example

FONT DESIGN

"Where the Wild Things Are"

"The Great Gatsby"

COLOUR CHOICE

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

"The Catcher in the Rye"

GENERAL DESIGN

"The Girl on the Train"

why are illustrations chosen for top ten do they vary from one another?

In my opinion I believe their chosen mainly because they come up with brilliant ways to focus on specific aspects of day to day struggles and have meaningful stories told by weird shapes and simple sketchy designs.

or

defined by what the style is used for?

Most of these artists are defined by their style, but also defined by how their work can impact ones perception on life and to make them feel a certain way whether emotional or comical, they allow a lot of creativity to be brought and to be seen without any need for clarification.

Daisy Whittle - Her art style is extremely Whitty, full of excitement and tackles lessons of grief, women empowerment and global warming crises and always has a silly, childish but happy end to each one of her designs. I believe she is defined by what the art is used for, as it always compares to such a deep issue in day to day life and tries to keep the hope rising even when there isn't normally room for their to be.

Zofia Chamienia -Very similar to Daisy, yet their style is more digital, compact, consistent and abstract however still holding a similar style. She also goes for a meaningful approach with her style, allowing her art to accept diverse individuals, with their characters being weird and wonderful and very playful but also allowing her designs to make you feel welcome and heard like no one is ignoring you and you too get a shared piece of acceptance.

Puja Varia - Very similar to my trials. In cutting up various of different pits and bops and then mashing them together to make a collection of very obvious and recognisable objects in every day life we use. Their style is very distinct from the rest of these artists.

Raffaele Baldo/Ike - Their style is very different from these artists and very interesting. The artists is just being mischievous with his character designs, allowing nudity and queer whacky designs create while stories within just one design, but allow allowing the colour and weirdness of his designs act upon that sneaky feel.

Lauren Cory -Their art style focus on making dream-like worlds, using colour and various of line work or digital styles like Pixel art to create these weird and strange designs, that feel very impactful on the identity of someone.

Forest Xiao - Their style is more focused on simple and child like designs and colour onto paper allowing space for that strange feeling of wonder to seep through, as their intended goal is for a little fun and humour to be sparked.

Jackie Wong - Her style focuses on more Non fiction aspects, building landscapes and worlds that correspond to the human body or how our day to day actions and things we take for granted can have an overall effect on anything else.

[mytalkingraccoon]

different types of writers

this is somewhat serious? somewhat not? im just spilling out some of my thoughts and opinions to help people that think about dabbling into the writing shithole

the short story writer: typically ive noticed they can be pretty scatterbrained. they jump from one idea to the next pretty quickly so its hard for them to stick with one story and turn it into a 100-book series like R.L Stine did. depending on your opinion its either a good or bad thing. if you want to get popular its best to have your short stories in a collection-type book or on the internet. idk why its hard to get your short stories noticed but if your short stories arent going to be illustrated children’s books those are your only two options.

the poet: best. hobby. ever. makes a lot of cash? no, but it sure does pick up a lot of gays. i remember i did some poetry when i first started this blog. i’m inspired by kid’s poems since one of the first books I owned was a poem book.

poetry really isn’t that popular as a money-making scheme but it does have a lot of respect depending on the person. people either love poetry or hate it. 

the screenwriter: dialogues. that’s literally how my wips look like in my head is mainly conversations my characters are having. screenwriting is instead of multiple factors make the story move forward you strip it down to the basics and you tell the story by showing how the characters interact in the environment/stage. i remembered how easy it was to write Theo when i wrote it as a movie, and another script would’ve worked great if i had an artist. its a great way to sort of outline what you want in your first draft. 

screenwriting relies on others for popularity. first you need to get together a team that will bring your script to life, and then you need an audience to see that team. if your script is somewhat simple you can probably get a local acting group to do a show, or if youre in high school the drama teacher. 

the comic person: they have to actually show you what’s happening. they combine their artistic skills with their literary skills to tell a story. sometimes the screenwriters and the comic person are lesbian gfs creating smuts together, so dont try and start a fight between these two.

the novelists: they’re less scatterbrained then short-story writers but not by much. Short-story writers are actually getting work done, while novelists have at least 50 incomplete wips or ideas for a wip. 

the series writer: they’re scary tbh. it seems they have no life outside of their wips. their mind is basically a giant sweater/wip that keeps knitting, and knitting, and knitting...

the fan ficers: they can literally be any of the above, but the source material isn’t original, but trust me it might as well be with the shit they can pull. you want johnny to survive the fire and a mortician that discovered he was alive to take care of him and dally became a naked woodland princess? we got you. tired of the queerbait from supernatural? welcome to tumblr. want batman to have a choking kink? take 50 fics. 

[entergamingxp]

Sakura Wars Gets More Goods, Collabs, Comments From Kohei Tanaka

July 7, 2020 3:34 PM EST

Everything from the latest Sakura Wars stream including a Chain Chronicle collab, new Nendoroids, more goods, and comments from composer Kohei Tanaka.

Sega held the 14th Sakura Taisen Imperial Communication Department’s Broadcast stream on June 19, focusing on Sakura Wars The Animation. We’ve summarized every past Sakura Taisen stream on DualShockers, though on a more timely manner. So while it’s been a few days now since the stream aired, here’s our full summary, as usual.

The stream featured as usual: MC Mami Yamashita (who thankfully recovered from Covid-19), Seijuro Kamiyama’s seiyuu Youhei Azakami, and Producer Tetsu Katano. Present as guests were Kenji Akabane, who is the seiyuu of Kaminski in Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation (Sakura Wars The Animation), and Sakura Taisen series composer Kohei Tanaka. The stream focused on Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation whose final episode aired the same day.

After the introductions, everyone present on the stream started chatting about the anime, and introducing its characters. Most notably Kaminski Valery, captain of the Moscow Combat Troupe appearing in the anime’s story, sequel to the game. The first hilarious moment on stream was how Kenji Akabane was supposed to launch the video introducing his character, but got preemptively cut since he took so long. You can catch that moment at the 14:00 time stamp below:

Following that, everyone on stream commented various excerpt from each Sakura Wars The Animation episodes. I’ve personally only skimmed through this part to avoid spoilers, as time didn’t permit me to watch the whole anime yet.  However, you should definitely check it out if you’re a fan with a grasp of Japanese. This sequence starts at the 23:00 mark and lasts around 20 minutes:

One particular anecdote Kohei Tanaka mentioned is how the cat often seen in the anime, is voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi, who also voices Komachi.

Following that, Kenji Akabane spoke about his history with the Sakura Taisen franchise. He first got into the series with Sakura Wars The Movie, released on December 22, 2001. Akabane explained he really loves Hidenori Matsubara’s designs in the Sakura anime adaptations and how they adapt perfectly the original design by Kousuke Fujishima. As a reminder, nowadays whenever new Sakura Wars artwork is released, it’s always Hidenori Matsubara drawing it, and I don’t think Kousuke Fujishima has drawn Sakura Taisen artwork for years now, which is a shame. Kenji Akabane greatly praised the movie and how it’s still incredibly great looking even now. He was also really into collecting stickers back then and particularly liked the ones included in some of the OST CDs releases.

Kohei Tanaka too spoke about Sakura Wars The Movie. He explained that back during the movie’s production, when he recorded the BGMs with an orchestra, they had an audience as well. It was a pretty emotional moment as some of the fans watching the stream mentioned in the comments they were there. Back then, they recorded the audience for cheers and applause used in the movie as well.

Following that, the discussion subject moved back to Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation. Kenji Akabane was really hyped to be in the anime because he met Sumire’s seiyuu Michie Tomizawa during the recording. There’s also a scene early on in the anime where Kaminski meets Sumire and praises her, and he was ultra hyped about voicing that one scene. As for Akabane’s initial impressions of Kaminski, he only saw his actual design just before recording, and didn’t see it at the audition, so he was surprised how much of a pretty boy he is. He asked a lot about his personality and goals to the anime staff before recording to be sure to get in the role and voice him accordingly.

At that point on Kohei Tanaka started focusing on the ending theme song, Sakura Yumemishi. It’s sung by the girls of the Imperial Combat Revue’s new Flower Division: Sakura Amamiya, Hatsuho, Azami, Anastasia, Claris, along with Shangai’s Huang Yui, London’s Lancelot, and Berlin’s Elise.

With Sakura Yumemishi, Kohei Tanaka wanted to make something symbolizing the nobleness and frantic feelings of the women fighting in the series. That’s why Ayane Sakura, singing as Sakura Amamiya, has particularly high notes in the song, to show that franticness. Kohei Tanaka really praised her singing and said she pretty much fused with Sakura Amamiya. He praised all the other seiyuu as well, and said they did a wonderful job. He also jokingly apologized for making so many hard to sing pieces Kenji Akabane added he’d definitely refuse he was asked to sing one of the songs because it’d be way too difficult. Kohei Tanaka mentioned it was particularly difficult for Hibiku Yamamura, because she had to stay in Azami’s voice and yet sing very high tones.

Following that, Kohei Tanaka explained the lyrics of Sakura Yumemishi. Nearly every single song in Sakura Wars has lyrics written by original author Hiroi Oji. However, he couldn’t do the lyrics of Sakura Yumemishi, so Shouko Fujibayashi handled it instead. In the Shin Sakura Taisen game, Shouko Fujibayashi also wrote the lyrics for the character songs of Lancelot (Knights of the Round), Elise (Schwarzer Stern), Itsuki (Ruriruran Ginza Roman) and the charasong shared by Sumire, Kaoru, and Komachi (A Star Is Born).

Kohei Tanaka explained he loves working with Hiroi Oji and wants to keep working with him for years to come, but having someone else do the lyrics is also a good change of pace, which can bring a new angle to Sakura Taisen music.

Shouko Fujibayashi wrote many songs for Nana Mizuki, Hiroshi Kitadani, and many other legendary singers in Japan. She also regularly works with Kohei Tanaka as she writes the lyrics of most of the songs he does for One Piece. She writes lyrics for pretty much every single popular kids franchise, Precure, Kamen Rider, One Piece, you name it.

As that segment of the stream ended, we got the see a clean, non-credit version of Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation‘s ending sequence, with Sakura Yumemishi playing. As far as I know it’s the only way to see this version for now. It’s at the 53:38 mark:

Mami Yamashita, Yohei Azakami and Kenji Akabane  all really like the ED animation, especially the Kamiyama shot and how cool he looks.

An OST CD for Sakura Wars PS4 launched June 24. This is the OST CD containing the game’s instrumentals BGMs only. The vocal songs were in the OST CD included in the Japanese Limited Edition, and were also released on a separate CD, seen on the right.

Kohei Tanaka said he’s never tired of making Sakura Taisen songs and wants to keep doing it forever. He said that when he recorded the BGMs for Sakura Wars PS4 with an orchestra, at the same time he also recorded the BGMs in the One Piece: Stampede movie, so it was really exhausting. But he’s glad he did it.

Kohei Tanaka also quickly mentioned the BGM used in the final battle of Sakura Wars PS4. He explained how the game’s saddest BGM uses the same base as the final battle’s BGM, to represent the sadness and pain of battle.

The Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation OST CD for ending theme Sakura Yumemishi is out since May 27. Kohei Tanaka said there will probably be another CD later on with the rest of the anime’s BGMs.

Volume 1 and 2 of the DVD and Bluray disc release of the anime are out. Cover illustrations are by character designer Masashi Kudo. One of the coolest things about these are the audio commentaries by the seiyuu. Yohei Azakami mentioned he’s in the audio commentary in Volume 3, and it was the first time he ever recorded one. Kenji Akabane is on Volume 4’s audio commentary. Volume 3 launches on July 15. Volume 4 on August 19.

Starting the 1:08:40 mark of the stream, we had the usual goods and new collabs segment, with Mami Yamashita and Yohei Azakami wearing glasses and acting all serious. This is one of the meta jokes of these streams as they always do that for this segment.

First off, we learned the Shin Sakura Taisen The Comic manga will end with volume 3, launching on July 17, 2020.

最終3巻7月17日（金）��売予定

本日発売のYJ30号に最終話が掲載！

玄庵葬徹を倒した華撃団！ 華麗なるフィナーレをご覧ください！ そしてまた、新たな幕が開くその時までーー…

コミックス2巻デジタル版はこちら→https://t.co/JpNtOL8Uxy pic.twitter.com/7gzwcxvOXn

— 野口こゆり公式【新サクラ大戦 the Comic】 (@kenkouki_) June 24, 2020

The final chapter of the manga was pre-published online in Tonari no Young Jump on June 25, 2020. It has a pretty cool shot of Sakura Amamiya.

The new Sakura Wars goods on sale in Japan since June 17.

As a reminder, each character has been getting goods for their birthdays. Each month, one character gets goods dedicated to them. Special messages from the other characters, wishing them happy birthday, are also published online on the Sakura Taisen Twitter account. The first wave of birthday goods was for Sakura Amamiya in March 2020.

List of Shin Sakura Taisen main characters birthdays, blood type and astrological sign (These were revealed during the 11th stream on January 2020):

Seijuro Kamiyama August 11, Leo, AB.

Sakura Amamiya: March 19, Pisces, A.

Hatsuho Shinonome: September 9, Virgo, B.

Azami Mochizuki: May 15, Taurus, O.

Anastasia Palma: October 6, Libra, B.

Claris: February 1, Aquarius, AB.

The next one in line is Seijuro Kamiyama, they’re selling a t-shirt based on his parka from the DLC costumes. Along with a bunch of other goods. The last one to get birthday goods should be Claris, in January-February 2021.

Sakura Amamiya Nendoroid from Good Smile. They hinted they might make more for the other characters if this one sells well.

The next HG 1/24 scale plamo scheduled to release is Anastasia’s Mugen, scheduled to launch October 2020. Seijuro and Sakura Amamiya’s Mugen plamo released on June 20. Azami’s Mugen plamo launches in July.

Yurakucho Marui shopping mall in Tokyo is also doing a Shin Sakura Taisen collab from June 19 to July 12, selling exclusive goods. Kohei Tanaka made a song for the shop too. Details are on the shop’s site. There’s also a collab café with Princess Café at Yurakucho Marui, and Shibuya Marui. Fans can get exclusive goods there too.

Shin Sakura Taisen collab event in Ekimemo!, the mobile game with train stations turned into cute girls by Mobile Factory.

Collab event with free to play mecha Sega game Border Break.

Collab event between Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation and Chain Chronicle 3, gacha game by Sega.

【コラボ】「#アニメ新サクラ大戦」×「チェインクロニクル３(#チェンクロ )」コラボが開催中

花組キャラクターたちが、SSRキャラクターとしてチェインクロニクルに登場！コラボ専用のオリジナルストーリーにも注目です！#新サクラ大戦 pic.twitter.com/1UYkfQH4nu

— サクラ大戦公式@SEGA (@Sakura_Taisen) June 19, 2020

It’s particularly funny because Sakura Amamiya and the “Heroine” of Chain Chronicle 3, Feena, are both voiced by Ayane Sakura. She voiced a commercial for the collab.

Following that, the stream moved on to its ending corner.

Seeing Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation is over, future Sakura Taisen streams will stop focusing on it. Kenji Akabane said Sakura Ayane didn’t appear yet on the streams, and how she was super jealous of him when she heard he would appear at some point when they recorded the anime volume 4’s audio commentary together.

Kenji Akabane said he was pretty happy to appear on stream, and hopes there’s a “Shin Sakura Taisen The Movie” happening one day. He jokingly said he’ll do anything to make it happen.

As the stream ended, unlike with most streams until now, they didn’t announce a date for the next stream. Though they stressed out there will be more streams coming. As we covered in a separate article, they also teased a Shin Sakura Taisen sequel could be coming. Shin Sakura Taisen The Stage, the stage play, was re-announced as well.

【6月19日(金)生放送終了】 皆様、ご視聴ありがとうございました！

TVアニメ『新サクラ大戦 The Animation』 本日最終回放送です！お見逃しなく！#新サクラ大戦 #アニメ新サクラ大戦 pic.twitter.com/xmli41IknA

— サクラ大戦公式@SEGA (@Sakura_Taisen) June 19, 2020

帝劇宣伝部通信をご覧くださった皆様、ありがとうございました！#アニメ新サクラ大戦 最終話直前ということで大いに語らせていただきました！僕らリ��タイは厳しそうですが、皆様は是非、さくらたちの勇姿を見届けてください！神山隊長！間に合えー！！！#新サクラ大戦 pic.twitter.com/ADGyHDhm67

— 阿座上洋平 (@azakami_youhei) June 19, 2020

The usual end of stream photos with everyone present. Every Japanese stream has similar social distancing setups like these nowadays. Usually they sit much closer.

Be sure to check out our review of Sakura Wars, and why did the game was titled “Sakura Wars” in the west. You can also check out our summaries of all the previous streams so far. DualShockers also recently had the opportunity to interview the Sakura Wars development team, and the full interview is coming later this week.

Sakura Wars is currently a PS4 exclusive and can be bought on Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links where DualShockers gets a small commission on sales. Any and all support helps keep DualShockers as a standalone, independent platform for less-mainstream opinions and news coverage.

July 7, 2020 3:34 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/sakura-wars-gets-more-goods-collabs-comments-from-kohei-tanaka/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sakura-wars-gets-more-goods-collabs-comments-from-kohei-tanaka

[fashiontrendin-blog]

I’m Getting More Socially Awkward Every Year, Can I Blame the Internet?

https://fashion-trendin.com/im-getting-more-socially-awkward-every-year-can-i-blame-the-internet/

I’m Getting More Socially Awkward Every Year, Can I Blame the Internet?

N

o other banal event floods my system with stress as quickly as a text that reads: “You available for a call?” Is Death calling or merely my mother, wondering what that chocolate mousse thing I made for a family gathering once eight years ago was? I’d consider the news of my own death to be quite serious, but honestly, I think I’d still prefer to receive it via text — perhaps as a single-frame New Yorker comic to sum up my passage through the veil, or even as a simple coffin emoji sent by the Grim Reaper’s bony finger, presumably adorned in tech-finger gloves. (Does bone work on a touchscreen?)

There are many reasons I prefer texting over phone calls. It’s less intrusive (the other party can answer at their leisure), there is a whole wealth of virtual material to pull from (memes! GIFs! inscrutable emojis!) and it provides an opportunity to be thoughtful in message crafting. Though there is also a more self-serving reason: comfort.

Written communication is the “taking off your bra” of conversational mediums for me. As someone who feels at home expressing herself through writing, the art of casual, vocalized conversation can often feel uncomfortable. For whatever reason, this type of social stress began to settle in post-college, and conjuring my ability to charm in real time seems to be slipping away with each passing year.

I always chalked this deterioration up to the introduction of bigger stakes: a job I want to get, an important connection I want to foster, a relationship I don’t want to damage. While those may be factors, I’ve started to wonder if a component of that anxiety is, more simply, a general decline in the number of unscripted exchanges I have on any given day. It’s practically standard practice at this point for my group of gal pals to juggle six different threads of conversation across three different platforms. We sometimes even chat through our phones when we’re in the same room together. What else are you going to do to avoid watching The Bachelor while gathering to watch The Bachelor?

Social technology, in all of its varying forms, seems similar to alcohol in a way. Both can be used as an effective lubricant for the socially skittish, but when used in excess, can also damage our ability to hold a coherent conversation without their aid.

Experts seem to agree that anxiety, stress and depression are all on the rise in younger generations, especially young women. It may correlate to the tight coupling of social media and advertisements, unsure financial futures or debt, or an evolutionary bias toward a level of stress that we no longer need. It may be a mixture of all of those plus my suspicion of a general atrophy of the casual conversation skills we developed pre-screen. According to Dr. Kirk Honda, PsyD, professor of psychology at Antioch University Seattle and host of the Psychology in Seattle podcast, all of these are “totally valid hypotheses, but nearly impossible to test given our current technologies and budgets.” (Thanks a lot, scientific method.)

“[I]t may just be that we’re doing a better job of identifying mental health issues,” suggests Honda. “There is also the matter of culture. Certain cultures express anxiety and depression in different ways, making it difficult to pin down the rise in anxiety and depression to a purely western phenomenon.”

Over the course of our conversation, Honda brought up the idea that as humans evolved, we shifted from a highly tribal species to one of increasing isolation. In many western societies, families no longer live in geographically close communities, and people move jobs and homes so often, they don’t get the opportunity to build confidence in their everyday relationships. This constant newness and mistrust of others can cause excess stress, says Dr. Honda.

Another theory, proposed in the 1990s by anthropologist Robin Dunbar, posits that humans can reasonably maintain only 150 close relationships. Anything larger than that, and rules have to be put in place to maintain peace. Then came the modern internet — a vast, lawless landscape that easily outpaced our ability to evolve our cliques from 150 to roughly 4 billion.

That seems to be where we are now: increasingly isolated in the physical realm, bombarded by a virtual global community and — given that it’s not often recognized on social media that humans are merely flesh suits stuffed firm with honest mistakes and the capacity for change — completely unsure of what may or may not cause us social pain. To cap it off, the view that issues that arise on the internet (think Gamergate) are inconsequential and separate from our somatic selves is patently false, though scarcely recognized. Somewhere in this convolution lies the source of our collective stress, inevitably leading us to the trough of self-care in the form of cancelled plans, infinite scrolling and the great and terrible cycle of trying all of Oreo’s limited edition flavors. Fortunately for all of us, Nabisco excluded, there’s a fix.

In all his years in the field, Honda has found anxiety to be “one of the most manageable afflictions for a therapist to effectively treat, sometimes taking only a few months of therapy. In fact, most people deal with anxiety at some point in their lives.” He encourages anyone suffering from the kind of anxiety that affects your ability to function to seek treatment from a licensed therapist.

It’s encouraging to know that anxiety and social stress are common struggles. Honda agrees that “for many, there’s likely a connection between social media and anxiety and a lack of social or coping skills. It’s just really difficult to measure the exact physical mechanism in the brain.” Regardless of possibility, I can’t help but theorize. As we inch closer to understanding the mind, will we one day be able to definitively tell if the internet is simultaneously encouraging us to eschew the physical for the virtual, all while atrophying our real-time conversation skills? Phase one of the synchronicity, perhaps. Or does it just require a restructuring of some age-old drinking wisdom: If wine before liquor makes you sicker, what do memes before water cooler chat do?

Illustrations by Irene Servillo.

[forgetmenotblues]

52 in 52

So last year I tried to read 52 books in 52 weeks (aka a year, if you're nasty), and because I was a shiftless philosophy student, I managed and then some.

Here are the books I've read, with some thoughts on them, for posterity, or recommendations

1) Sandman Overture, Neil Gaiman

Pretty solid, usually I hate prequels, but sandman was always pretty meandering and non-linear, so it works well. Just annoying it doesn't fit in with my pretty leatherbound absolute editions

2) Radioactive: love and fallout, Lauren Redniss

Very cool artsy biography of Marie Curie, and glows in the dark!

3) XKCD What if?

Extremely fun science, makes some abstract concepts approachable, I mean it's Randall Munroe, it's solid

4) Rise to Rebellion, Jeff Shaara

Historical novel (gonna be a few of these, I'm dead into them) about the build up to the American revolution . Kinda dry for a lot of it, but can ratchet the tension up, taught me lots I didn't know, and there's a bit towards the end where John Adams' wife calls him out on his privilege and it's pretty rad

5) Dune, Frank Herbert

I hate myself for saying this, but I was expecting it to be a bit more... dry. But seriously, everything described it as complex philosophy and politics, ASOIAF in space, and then it was a pretty straightforward adventure. The dynastic politics boiled down to a family of cool beautiful good guys vs an evil family of "hilariously" fat perverts. It was a great read, but more Laurence of Arabia than anything else

6) Squirrel girl, Ryan North 

Fantastic, fun, brilliantly written - it's Ryan North, nuff said.

7) Virgil, Steve Orlando

A cool, dark, "queersploitation" comic. Your basic "beaten and left for dead, wreaks vengeance" type story, brutal, but honestly pretty cathartic

8) the house that groaned, karrie fransman

A comic about a bunch of dysfunctional people. I didn't care for it, it was a lot of kinda shallow Freudian psychology and slightly tim burton esque "quirky" characters. It was kinda like the A Dolls House arc of Sandman, but... not good

9) The Last Continent, Terry Pratchett

Discworld is always fantastic, and I've got a real fondness for the classic travelogue style rincewind ones.

10) Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist, Russel McCormmach

The story of a German physicist who's dedicated his whole life to ether model physics and is realising his life's work is being disproved by recent advances... so a barrel of laughs. All about mortality, the fear of obsolescence, nationalism, and academia.

11) The Property, Rutu Modan

Indie comic about a girl learning about her family's heritage in Europe, lots of post war stuff and exploring "the old country". Very good

12) The Wake, Paul Kingsnorth

This was one of the real wins of this year, a story about the Norman occupation of Anglo Saxon England after 1066, and resistance thereof. Written in a conlang made to simulate old english, it seems totally unreadable, but you pick it up, and it makes the story infinitely more engrossing. A cool setting plus a whole other language wouldbe enough, but kingsnorth goes one further and makes it a savage deconstruction of nationalism and a beautifully painful exploration of tropes these sorts of books tend to embrace. Can't recommend enough.

13) Adventures of Hergé, Jean-luc Fromental

Biography of hergé written in the style of a tintin comic, a lot of fun

14) Carpé Jugulum, Terry Pratchett

Another Discworld, another classic. A lot of fun stuff with vampire tropes, although also a pretty serious discussion of "all evil comes from utilitarianism", which I felt didn't entirely fit, and I disagreed with. But again, the biggest criticism I've ever had of a Pratchett book is "his intelligent discussion of philosophy felt a little out of place", so not the end of the world

15) Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett

I went on a bit of a discworld binge here, another great one

16) Half a King, Joe Abercrombie

Great deconstructive low fantasy  novel, one of the many ASOIAF-esque books out there, and one of the few I've really enjoyed

17) Batman and Robin Eternal, D.C. Comics

Fun story about the batfamily, one of the rare bat-titles to really say "hey maybe this should be fun, you guys?"

18) Magical Game Time, Zac Gorman

Brilliant comics about video games, capture the real magic and freedom you found in games when you're a kid, the epic narratives you'd weave out of very simple Zelda games on the NES. makes me happy on a fundamental level. A lot of its available as webcomics, look it up, you won't regret it

19) The Truth, Terry Pratchett

Another brilliant Discworld book. Not much to say as there's a lot of these another all just consistently amongst the best books ever.

20) Wonder Woman Earth 1, Grant Morrison

Grant Morrison's always got a gift for finding the heart of a character, and he doesn't disappoint here. A lot of weird analysis of wonder woman as a feminist character, but he handles it pretty well overall.

21) & 22) Half the World, and Half a War, Joe Abercrombie

Parts 2 and 3 of the series, stays brilliant. Abercrombie is apparently best known for more adult stuff and this is more YA, but if anything that refines his writing - stops him being another grimdark game of thrones wannabe, and keeps it slightly more reconstructive and intelligent. Brilliant use of characters, the hero of the first book ends up almost the villain of the last, and all for entirely understandable reasons.

23) Machine of Death, various authors

A short story collection about a high concept: a simple blood test can tell you your cause of Death, but not the time or any specifics. A brilliant idea is explored in a lot of clever, beautiful, and hilarious ways.

24) The Last Hero, Terry Pratchett

Another brilliant Discworld, acting as a bridge between the classic fantasy of the older books, and the renaissance era politics and science of the later books - v poignant

25, 26, & 27) Harlequin, Vagabond, Heretic, Bernard Cornwell

Historical novels about the battle of creçy and the start of the 100 years war. Cornwells always good, although honestly these aren't his best. Pretty cool comparison between the chivalry of grain quests, and the reality of medieval warfare.

28) Long Halloween, Jeph Loeb

A classic batman, the story they based Dark Knight on, with a cool transition from down to earth organised crime of Year One to the zany madness of later batman

29) Little Brother, Cory Doctorow

A novel about post-911 culture, and counter culture rebellions against it. Fantastic novel, available as creative commons, so you can get it for free, so no excuses not to read! Very inspiring in that fuck Bush and fuck this war aesthetic, and Ihve a feeling it's gonna get real relevant in the coming years

30) Enders Game, Orson Scott Card

Pretty fantastic sci fi, analyses the psychological impacts of chosen one children saving the world, and the ethics of a "all the enemy are evil aliens" narrative. Obviously all this ethicality is a bit hypocritical from Orson Scott homophobia, so buy it second hand?

31) Black Guard, AJ Smith

Pretty cool fantasy, another faux ASOIAF type one, fairly straightforward, but plenty enjoyable

32) Deadpool vs Hawkeye

Pretty fun comic, read it on a plane back from Costa Rica, so I dont super remember it? But I enjoyed  

33) The Sleeper and the Spindle, Neil Gaiman

Very cool twisted fairy tale type thing, Neil Gaiman's always good, and beautiful Chris Riddel illustrations on top

34) Dial H for Hero, China Miéville

Great comic series, takes a simple idea (guy finds magic phone, when he dials it, he becomes a randomised superhero) and explores it in every possible way, becoming a full blown epic. Plus a scene where he becomes old timey racist heroes from the 60's and has to balance the good of doing superheroics vs the offensiveness of going out as "super chief" or whoever

35) Ravenspur, Conn Iggulden

Historical novel about the war of the roses. Iggulden is always very good, makes extremely readable stuff, and his war of the roses series is fantastic, a complex story made into an awesome action story. However, this last book isn't his best, it spends about 2/3rds of the book on a 6 month period where not much happens, then blazes through 10 years of action in no time at all, the pacing just felt a bit off. Still very good.

36) Howard the Duck, Chip Zdarsky

Very readable, very fun, very witty

37) Stonehenge, Bernard Cornwell

Historical novel about the building of Stonehenge, this is cornwell at his best, at border of very well researched intelligent history and the slightest hint of fantasy, making a brilliant story that brings history to life.

38) Black Orchid, Neil Gaiman

Slightly deconstructive superhero story, reads very much like a companion piece to Alan Moore's brilliant Swamp Thing

39) The Hartlepool Monkey, Wilfrid Lupano

Historical comic about a northern English town that hanged a shipwrecked monkey as a Napoleonic spy. A brutal read, exploring idiotic nationalism, well recommended

40) Turned Out Nice Again, Richard Mabry

Cute non-fiction musings on the meanings of weather and it's effects on our day to day life

41) The Heroes, Joe Abercrombie

Another deconstructive low fantasy, this time part of his adult series, which actually kind of works against it. Without the lighter edge, it can be a little bit of a downer. Nonetheless, well written, solid characterisation, and an excellent take-down of fantasy's belief in the glorious nature of war.

42) Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett

Another fantastic Discworld, fun, funny, and clever

43, 44, 45, 46, 47) A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons

Reread all of ASOIAF, absolutely fantastic, better on a second read. The first 3 are great as last time, plus all the foreshadowing that now makes sense. And 4&5, which I felt bit more ambivalent about the first time round, I've since read various analyses of (check out @asoiafuniversity), and I'd now consider them some of the best books I've ever read.

48) Gettysburg Address, Jonathon Hennessey

Absolutely brilliant comic, dissecting the Gettysburg address, using each line of it as a jumping off point to explore the history and philosophy of the civil war, incredibly high recommendation

49) Lazarus, Greg Rucka

A fantastic sci fi comic series, brilliant writing and characters, rucka is always great, and this is some of his best

50) Night Watch, Terry Pratchett

Another Discworld, but this one is even better than usual, this is one of the ones that stand out as serious business, much less comedic and much more epic than usual

51) A Brief History of Vice, Robert Evans

Hilarious and informative book from a cracked.com writer about use of drugs and alcohol through history, with recipes and recommendations for legal highs and drink recipes

52) Just City, Jo Walton

Sci fi / fantasy /philosophical novel, where great thinkers from throughout history are brought together to build Plato's perfect city. All about the clash between high ideals and practical reality. Very enjoyable, the sort of book where action scenes are philosophical debates.

53) Goldie Vance, Hope Larson

Fun cool progressive detective comic

54) Temeraire, Naomi Novak

A really fun fantasy novel with a concept that seems so simple, you don't know how no one's done it before. Essentially it's just the classical trope of dragon riders, but updated from pseudo medieval to the Napoleonic era, with all  associated tall ships and iron men and officer and a gentleman tropes

[aion-rsa]

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2016: #50 – #26

Each year, CBR takes a thoughtful look at the comic book industry’s abundance of offerings and poll the passionate, thoughtful and always-opinionated CBR staff for their rankings of the top comics of the year. Every publisher putting out new comics material in English, regardless of genre or format, is fair game; each individual list is then factored in (all thanks to the power of mathematics and the magic of spreadsheets) to determine the overall Top 100 that will be unveiled on CBR over the course of this week.

2016 was another big year for the Top 100, once again with more than 40 contributors to the list and more than 200 comics nominated. That’s resulted in a typically diverse and sometimes unpredictable field: world-famous superheroes alongside creator-owned works; major publishers sharing space with indie favorites. Of course, even with 100 spots, no list can be an exhaustive collection of every noteworthy piece of work in a year, but the end result of the CBR Top 100 is a wide selection of eclectic comics and graphic novels worthy of attention. (Note: Given the close ties between the two series, votes for “Captain America: Steve Rogers” and “Captain America: Sam Wilson” were combined for one entry.)

RELATED: CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2016: #75 – #51

On Monday, we started unveiling the list with entries No. 100 to 76, things kept going on Tuesday with 75 -> 51“>No. 75 to 51. The countdown continues today as we crack into the second half with No. 50 to 26 — here’s the remaining schedule, mark your calendars accordingly (all times Eastern): Thursday, 1/5, 9 a.m.: Top 25-11; Thursday, 1/5, 3 p.m.: Top 10; Friday, 1/6, 9 a.m.: Master list.

Start perusing the list below, and if you feel so moved, take to Twitter and (politely) discuss your thoughts using the hashtag #CBRTop100. While you’re here, feel free revisit our Top 100 lists from previous years:

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2015

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2014

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2013

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2012

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2011

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2010

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2009

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2008

CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2016: 100 -> 76 | 75 -> 51 | 50 -> 26 | 25 -> 11 | 10 -> 1

50. Darth Vader

Written by Kieron Gillen

Art by Salvador Larroca

Publisher: Marvel Comics

This was a perfect run of 25 issues without a single dud. Villain books can be hard, and we’ve all seen what happens when you look too deeply into the psyche of Darth Vader, but this book not only delivered a satisfactory answer to questions the movies left unanswered, it introduced us to the most fun supporting cast in all of Star Wars.

— CBR Contributing Writer Jacob Hill

49. I Hate Fairyland

Written & Illustrated by Skottie Young

Publisher: Image Comics

Known for his cutesy “Little Marvel” style, Young has taken his talents and applied them to a black comedy of his own making with outstanding results. He’s taken fairytales and turned them into Looney Tunes, except Elmer Fudd’s shotgun does real damage. It’s bloody fun!

— CBR Contributing Writer George A. Tramountanas

48. Paracuellos

Written & Illustrated by Carlos Giménez

Publisher: IDW Publishing/EuroComics

Gimenez tells the stories of his time in the “Social Aid Homes” for war orphans after Franco won the Spanish Civil War. Every page is designed to break your heart. Masterful cartooning, a little childhood whimsy and a whole lot of human tragedy make for an unforgettable reading experience.

— CBR Staff Writer Michael C Lorah

47. Star Trek / Star Trek: Boldly Go

Written by Mike Johnson

Art by Tony Shasteen

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Both the “Star Trek” series that wrapped in 2016 and the “Star Trek: Boldly Go” title which picks up after the events of the “Star Trek Beyond” movie have been fun reads. The highlight of the year was the final two-part story in the “Star Trek” series which involved both versions of the Enterprise crews. The story compared and contrasted original prime universe versions of the characters and the movie-reboot versions with equal love for both sets of characters. If you are a Star Trek fan, you should check out what IDW has been doing with the franchise. They’ve done a great job with the license for the past decade or so with no signs of slowing down.

— CBR Staff Writer John Mayo

46. Doctor Strange

Written by Jason Aaron

Art by Chris Bachalo, Kevin Nowlan, Leonardo Romero, Jorge Fornés

Publisher: Marvel Comics

“The Last Days of Magic” story arc in Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo’s “Doctor Strange” has been nothing short of exceptional. Stephen Strange, as the Sorcerer Supreme, fighting for the very lifeblood of magic, is actually interesting again under the leadership of Aaron, with the Empirikul and the magical reverse-Superman known as the Imperator standing collectively as one of the most frightening, compelling and literally all-consuming villains at Marvel. Bachalo’s art has arguably been the best Marvel has benefited from all year and marks a serious and well-received return to form; Bachalo was born to draw Doctor Strange, with his inimitably gnarly, almost baroque style, and his and Aaron’s work here has organically revitalized the Doctor Strange name in an important year for the franchise.

— CBR List Editor Steven E. Paugh

45. Southern Cross

Written by Becky Cloonan

Art by Andy Belanger

Publisher: Image Comics

While the first arc of Becky Cloonan, Andy Belanger and Lee Loughridge’s sci-fi series was a horror book, with ghosts both literal and metaphorical haunting the passengers of the titular space-faring freighter, the second genre-shifted to claustrophobic action thriller. The rising pressure among the oil riggers on Titan was palpable through Cloonan’s terse dialogue and Belanger’s heavily-inked art, equal parts Hugo Pratt and Leiji Matsumoto.

— CBR Contributing Writer Tom Baker

44. Wonder Woman: Earth One

Written by Grant Morrison

Art by Yanick Paquette

Publisher: DC Comics

Grant Morrison and Yannick Paquette deliver a feminist/queer superhero origin story that doesn’t rely on punch-ups for the drama. Paquette and colorist Nathan Fairbairn gorgeously render Morrison’s vision of Paradise Island as a techno-utopia. Diana’s first encounter with the outside world is heart-wrenching.

— CBR Contributing Writer Christos Tsirbas

43. Action Comics

Written by Dan Jurgens

Art by Patrick Zircher, Tyler Kirkham, Stephen Segovia

Publisher: DC Comics

On paper, the premise for the “Rebirth”-era Superman seems like a Clone Saga-esque continuity scramble. Thanks to an “Action Comics” creative team led by Jurgens, it was a thrilling adventure that clearly established Superman’s place in the Rebirth DC Universe. Capped by a multi-issue knock-down, drag-out fight between Superman and Doomsday, “Action Comics” lived up to its title in a major way this year.

— CBR Contributing Writer Tim Webber

42. Wonder Woman

Written by Greg Rucka

Art by Liam Sharp, Nicola Scott, Bilquis Evely, Renato Guedes

Publisher: DC Comics

It has been really interesting to see the two storylines, set in two different points in Diana’s life, unfolding together. It’s really showcased what we love about Diana — not just her physical strength, but also her heart and her optimism.

— CBR Contributing Writer Sarah Cooke

41. Captain America: Steve Rogers / Captain America: Sam Wilson

Written by Nick Spencer

Art by Paul Renaud, Joe Bennett, Daniel Acuña, Angel Unzueta (Sam Wilson); Jesus Saiz, Javier Pina, Miguel Angel Sepulveda (Steve Rogers)

Publisher: Marvel Comics

2016 was a great year to be a Captain America fan. It was the character’s 75th anniversary, there was a fantastic third entry in Marvel Studios’ “Captain America” film series and the stories in both Cap comics were fantastic. In “Sam Wilson,” writer Nick Spencer and his artistic collaborators are doing a fantastic, but contemporary homage to the great Mark Gruenwald, exploring what Captain America means to people and the difficulty of carrying that mantle. Over in “Steve Rogers,” Spencer and artist Jesus Saiz have been doing a fascinating character study of Steve Rogers and his role in the Marvel Universe with the twist, which I went from hating to loving, of reality being reshaped so Steve was a secret agent of Hydra.

— CBR Staff Writer Dave Richards

40. Black Hammer

Written by Jeff Lemire

Art by Dean Ormston

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Jeff Lemire never fails to smash expectations, and his latest ongoing series from Dark Horse Comics may be his best yet. The Canadian cartoonist waited for Dean Ormston to recover from a stroke last year because “Black Hammer” wouldn’t be what is supposed to be without the British artist and man, was he right. This psychological superhero thriller was worth the wait.

— CBR Staff Writer Jeffrey Renaud

39. 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank

Written by Matthew Rosenberg

Art by Tyler Boss

Publisher: Black Mask Studios

It’s hard to tell whether Rosenberg and Boss’ story is the kind of tale that we remember our own childhood adventures feeling like, or the kind that today’s kids imagine their hijinks could be. Either way, this mash-up of hardboiled crime tropes and neighborhood gang types is the perfect feel good comic for this moment in time. Better yet, Rosenberg’s sharp, snarky dialogue blends perfectly with Boss’ art, which is equal parts cartoon realism and Shiga-esque storytelling insanity.

— CBR Staff Writer Kiel Phegley

38. Howard the Duck

Written by Chip Zdarsky

Art by Joe Quinones, Veronica Fish, Kevin Maguire

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Everyone who works on “Howard The Duck” must at some point contend with the legacy of Howard’s creator Steve Gerber, and the latest creative team of Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones was no exception. Howard isn’t just a wisecracking waterfowl stalking sarcastically through the Marvel Universe, he’s a mouthpiece for skewering culture in general, and comics in particular. In 2016 Howard went from space to the Savage Land and teamed up with Squirrel Girl and Lea Thompson, but the final issues of his current series found him in full-on metatextual mode, as Zdarsky and Quinones confronted the challenge of writing a corporately-owned character. Throughout it all, “Howard the Duck” was sharp, involving, sometimes devastating and always very, very funny. Like the original, it was gone too soon.

— CBR Staff Writer Tom Bondurant

37. Superman

Written by Peter Tomasi

Art by Pat Gleason, Jorge Jimenez, Doug Mahnke

Publisher: DC Comics

As a non-Superman fan, this has been the title I’ve found myself moving to the top of my stack every two weeks. The pairing of Gleason and Tomasi is the epitome of perfect superhero storytelling, even for those new to the genre.

— CBR Contributing Writer Leia Calderon

36. DC Comics: Bombshells

Written by Marguerite Bennett

Art by Mirka Andolfo, Laura Braga, Marguerite Sauvage, Sandy Jarrell, Pasquale Qualano, Maria Laura Sanapo

Publisher: DC Comics

This is the warmest, queerest comic out there. You’ll smile your way through every issue.

— CBR Staff Writer Marykate Jasper

35. Power Man and Iron Fist

Written by David F. Walker

Art by Sanford Greene, Flaviano Armentaro

Publisher: Marvel Comics

David Walker is only comics writer who made almost as much of an “overnight success” impact after years of work as Tom King. While there is a case to be made for the harsh realities of “Nighthawk” or the literary qualities of the amazing “Shaft: Imitation of Life,” the book that best encapsulated everything Walker can do (not to sleep on Sanford Greene’s contributions) is “Power Man and Iron Fist,” a fascinating take on the buddy book concept that has raucous humor, gripping action and nuanced characterization. With some of the most balanced plots on the shelves, every month this book is a shining beacon for the benefits of diversity in the marketplace with a voice and stories that could not be told by anyone else.

— CBR Staff Writer Hannibal Tabu

34. Ms. Marvel

Written by G. Willow Wilson

Art by Takeshi Miyazawa, Nico Leon, Adrian Alphona, Mirka Andolfo

Publisher: Marvel Comics

“Ms. Marvel” should be applauded for not letting the weight of “Civil War II” drag it down. The series effortlessly threaded the event into its storytelling and established Kamala Khan as the future of Marvel Comics.

— CBR Contributing Writer Tim Adams

33. The Walking Dead

Written by Robert Kirkman

Art by Charlie Adlard

Publisher: Image Comics/Skybound

Over 150 issues on from the zombie apocalypse, this comic continues to prove that it still has the power to shock and surprise its readers, not just in terms of storyline, but also in terms of structure, as Robert Kirkman and newly named Comics Laureate Charlie Adlard experiment with page layout to cram even more simultaneous action onto the page during the “Whisperer War” storyline.

— CBR Contributing Writer Rob Cave

32. Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!

Written by Kate Leth

Art by Brittney L. Williams, Natasha Allegri

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Like “Unbeatable Squirrel Girl,” “Patsy Walker aka Hellcat” takes an underused character and just makes everything ridiculous fun. As imagined by Leth and Williams, Patsy Walker is trying to reclaim her life after returning from the dead and then being laid off by She-Hulk. She strikes on the brilliant idea of setting up a temp agency for folks with powers who don’t want to use them for good or evil. There is action, adventure, and danger, but the overwhelming feeling of the series is joy.

— CBR Staff Writer Shaun Manning

31. Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash

Written & Illustrated by Dave McKean

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Dave McKean’s new book is about the life and work of the artist Paul Nash, examining his life and work and his experiences during the First World War through a series of dreams. The oversized volume is a joy to behold, and the insight into Nash and his thinking is amazing. At this stage of his career, McKean is no longer a major figure in comics, the artist/writer/designer/filmmaker/composer is one of the great artistic figures of his generation.

— CBR Staff Writer Alex Dueben

30. Southern Bastards

Written by Jason Aaron

Art by Jason Latour

Publisher: Image Comics

Jason Aaron and Jason Latour paint an unforgettable story of Southern crime, using blood and grease on their small-town canvas. This series sticks in your head like barbecue sauce sticks to your fingers.

— CBR Contributing Writer Jason Strykowski

29. Sunstone

Written & Illustrated by Stjepan Sejic

Publisher: Image Comics/Top Cow

This erotic comic is not only great for being deliciously filthy, but also because it’s full of complex but lovable and relatable characters who are well-written. Which explains why I was crushed when I thought the couple at the center of this story might break up.

— CBR Staff Writer Paul Semel

28. Sheriff of Babylon

Written by Tom King

Art by Mitch Gerads

Publisher: DC/Vertigo

“Sheriff of Babylon” had such a strong debut in 2015 that it was hard to shake even from its first issue. That continued into 2016, with King and Gerads taking a modern event, given just enough time since its occurrence so that one can effectively create fiction set inside of it, and turned out a winner as they follow three different individuals in 2004 Baghdad with their lives about to intersect. This is a deliberately uncomfortable story to read, even as each new chapter demanding you return for the next issue, because it’s just that good. With talk of a second miniseries, here’s hoping for another trip to Iraq soon.

— CBR Staff Writer Greg McElhatton

27. Future Quest

Written by Jeff Parker

Art by Evan Shaner, Craig Rousseau, Steve Rude, Ron Randall, Aaron Lopresti, Ariel Olivetti, Jonathan Case, Steve Lieber

Publisher: DC Comics

This nostalgia-fueled love letter to classic Hanna-Barbera heroes manages to do the impossible by making readers take these heroes from yesteryear seriously. This is in largely due to the artists on the series, which retains the feeling of the old cartoons while breathing new life into them.

— CBR Contributing Writer Sean Fischer

26. Black Widow

Written by Mark Waid & Chris Samnee

Art by Chris Samnee

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Lightning strikes twice sometimes, especially when Chris Samnee and Mark Waid are involved. Along with colorist Matt Wilson and letterer Joe Caramagna, the entire “Daredevil” team switched up lead characters and created a modern masterpiece in the spy comics genre. Taking on a larger writing role with this this series, Samnee’s power as a storyteller — in every sense of the word — is on full display.

— CBR Editor Brett White

Check back on Thursday for more of the CBR Top 100!

The post CBR’s Top 100 Comics of 2016: #50 – #26 appeared first on CBR.com.

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