#harpers gallery

[hilite-head]

NY March ArtXop Highlights

[psychokatrixxxy]

When your daughter goes to school in Star City, California, and your boyfriend's Criminal Empire us in Gotham, New Jersey 😔

OG pic + background below cut (I put too much care into the details in the background for Roy to cover them with his stupid body)

[nelkcats]

Danny is a meta Babysitter

Is not public information, but all Crime Alley know it, ¿the only rule? Don't tell the heroes

So, imagine the surprise when Roy Harper contacted him (¡¿cause Hood recommended!?)

[akitasimblr]

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transcript:

1 (rosamund) this one is on me! 2 (rosamund) i'll pay, i swear!! || (bartender) you said that yesterday... 3 (rosamund) omg holly! we meet again!! 4 (holy) guard, this woman is stalking me!! 5 (rosamund) oh holly, i would never... *blows kiss* 6 (rosamund) can i buy you a drink?

[mademoiselle-is-a-fairy]

Ivana Trivic photographed by JuanKr for Harper's Bazaar Serbia October 2024

[royboyfanpage]

Hello, please don't take this the wrong way but when I first started getting into comics I really disliked Ollie for how he treated/reacted to Roy and the whole drug thing but many years and more experience later (I know the characters a bit better now and stopped reading bad takes on tumblr) I'm realising that theres a lot more nuance and apparently they've got a really close relationship these days?? So I was just wondering if you might be able to explain that to me because I'd love to get into more arrow stuff (honestly mostly fanficton because lbr comics are crazy confusing and expensive) but I'm struggling to shake the assumptions I made about Ollies character when I was younger

Hi anon! Thank you soooo much for this ask, I've been looking forward to answering it for hours and now I finally have the time. Ollie's one of my favourite fictional archers, and I adore talking about him at any opportunity because he is SUCH a nuanced character. So here's-

Why Oliver Queen Doesn't Suck

Mandatory disclaimer that this is my own opinions, other people may have different interpretations which is totally fine! Ollie's been around for over 80 years, there's a lot of content to read and a lot of conflicting characterisations, so other people may see him differently than me. Also disclaimer that much of this was written from memory. I fact-checked the date of Nixon's declaration of the War on Drugs and the Denny O'Neil quote, but the rest of this was from memory. Apologies for any innaccuracies, both for comics and context.

Now that that's out of the way, lets talk Snowbirds.

In order to discuss Snowbirds Don't Fly, one of the most important things to factor in is context. I understand it can be difficult to see through the historical lense of a time period in which the majority of people on this website, myself included, were not even born let alone reading comic books. However, it's still crucially vital to discuss what was going on in the real world at the time of its publication in order to engage in a rich discussion of the comic. Snowbirds was published the year that the War on Drugs officially began following Nixon's declaration of drugs as "public enemy number one" on June 17th 1971, just under two months before the release of Snowbirds part 1 in August of that year. At the time, drug addiction was very much seen as a moral failing, and the war on drugs focused heavily on the incarceration of drug users (particularly ones that the US Government wanted an excuse to lock away such as people of colour and pacifists against the war in Vietnam, but that's not relevant to Snowbirds.) While Snowbirds was absolutely not a perfect comic, it was created to show a more humanising side of addicts than the usual demonisation seen on the news. In the words of writer Denny O'Neil, “we chose Roy [...] to show that addiction was not limited to 'bad' or 'misguided' kids.” It was created to show that addiction was not a moral failing, and that anyone could fall into it due to circumstances, even someone we've already accepted as 'one of the good guys' for the past 30 years. Roy was used as the symbol of a good kid who made a bad mistake in order to humanise real young people who'd gone through similar circumstances. And where there's a kid, there's a parent, which is where Ollie came in.

Now, I very strongly believe that Ollie was not written to be the bad guy of Snowbirds. Not only was he also an established 'good guy', but he was a symbolic stand-in for much of America at that time, including the people who would be reading it. And, while Green Arrow is very much a character who brings with him a lot of strong political takes, villainising their readerbase would be a step too far. Ollie was a stand-in for the concerned and ill-informed parent, a character who's consumed all the anti-addict propaganda being spread at the time and internalised it. That's why the fact that it was his own ward struggling with addiction was so poignant to the story. Ollie was forced to re-evaluate his worldview after seeing someone who he knows isn't what the media says addicts are struggling with addiction. Snowbirds has such an interesting character arc for Ollie, seeing him struggle to combine the ideas of what he's heard and what he's actively seeing in his mind.

Now, the most infamous part of Snowbirds is, obviously, the slap. Full disclaimer, I am not saying that Ollie is in the right for that. He was 100% undeniably in the wrong for how he responded to Roy's addiction. However, I think a key component of comic books that people tend to ignore is the component of marketing. The writers wanted this comic to sell. It was a very important story for the time, and with the amount of comics being released it was crucial to them that people actually found the comic and read it, especially since it was one of the first comics released outside of the strict rules of the Comics Code. And what would catch readers' eyes more than seeing a superhero hitting his sidekick whilst said sidekick is surrounded by drugs? I'm not trying to discredit the panel, it was obviously a very significant part of the story, but there were external factors at play too.

A lot of the development of Roy and Ollie's relationship is seen in comics released post-Snowbirds, but even in the comic itself there's clear development, particularly at the end. Snowbirds Don't Fly is a character arc for Ollie of him adjusting his worldview in order to grow and better himself after recognising his own biases. And people tend to forget that Snowbirds ends with Roy hitting Ollie back, and what does Ollie do? He listens. He lets Roy get his frustrations out, and listens to Roy's perspective, and he's proud of him by the end of it, proud of the young man he is.

Okay, now that we've gotten Snowbirds out of the way, let's talk about-

Post-Snowbirds

There's a common misconception that Roy and Ollie having a close relationship is a recent development, which just isn't true. While it could've absolutely been explored in more detail, it's clear that Roy and Ollie reconciled post-Snowbirds. The earliest example that comes to mind is 1993's Green Arrow vol 2 #75, wherein Ollie and Roy refer to each other as father and son.

Keep in mind that this was written by Grell who is, at least in my opinion, one of the best references for Ollie. While they did have some issues in the later issues of the run preceding Ollie's death (the causes of the conflict I'm unsure of, they were on rocky terms during Connor's introduction but I don't know why, if anyone has context for that please let me know but that could've just been a choice Dixon made), it's clear to see that Snowbirds was not something that permenantly damaged their relationship. Ollie put in the effort following his actions, to better himself both as a father and as a person, and Roy recognised that and forgave him. Parent/child relationships are hard anyway, let alone under the circumstances Roy and Ollie are under as heroes, and the fact that Ollie actually recognised his own flaws is far more than many parents do.

If we go later, we can see Roy talking fondly about Ollie whilst Ollie was dead in Titans (1999), fondly recalling memories with him from his youth, as well as keeping a photograph of him on his wall.

While Roy does recognise that things with Ollie weren't always perfect, he does also acknowledge the good times between him and Ollie, and it's clear from the way he speaks that he holds a lot of love for him.

Later still, when Ollie returns from the dead, the duo reunite with fondness

One thing particularly that stands out to me is that, at this point, Ollie was missing many of his memories and Snowbirds was still fresh in his mind, with him bringing up Roy's addiction multiple times throughout Quiver as if it happened within at most the span of two years. Despite this, he still embraces Roy and treats him with love, making it clear that Ollie loved Roy even near to the Snowbirds era. There are more instances I could go into in Green Arrow (2001), but I'm running out of free time, so I'd highly recommend reading it :)

Aaaand later still, Ollie openly admits to having fucked up with Roy during Snowbirds.

He admits his failings, and demonstrates that he's got Roy's best interests at heart. He's not being selfish, he's letting Roy have his moment in his initiation as Red Arrow and staying in the background because he believes that's what's best for Roy. And-

He openly states that he loves Roy.

There's more in the current continuity I could reference, but I don't have the time to go through them right now and I'm definitely more familiar with content pre-52 (particularly 1994-2004 is the ten years I'd say I know the best), so hopefully this is enough.

Roy and Ollie's relationship isn't perfect. It has clear ups and downs, which is what makes them so interesting! Oliver Queen is a very loving, yet very flawed man, and to go either way of "evil abuser" or "perfect father" discredits who he is.

Anyway, your faves don't have to be unproblematic to love them. Ollie has a really compelling character arc during and after Snowbirds, and I like him a lot :)

For further reading, check out my masterlist on my pinned post, particularly Oliver Queen's B- Parenting, Snowbirds (1), and Snowbirds (2)

[dcsnextgaycharacter]

[luvf4ngz]

GUYS ROY IS BACK AND HE LOOKS SO GOOD WAHHHHHHHHHH

MY PRETTY BOY IS OFFICIALLY BACK FROM THE DEAD SOBS

(this is from green lantern 2023, issue 10.)

(i know hes been back for a while im behind on the comics. i know he died in heros in crises and got revived in infinite frontiers but hes just been like - hiding for a while right?)

[eljeebee]

Somewhere in Tartosa, five college friends spend their summer in Katarina Estate, one of the Vanderburgs’ summer estates.

It’s summer after all!

[brokehorrorfan]

Bottleneck Gallery will release Midsommar 18x24 screen prints by Max Wesoloski today, March 1, at 12pm EST. The standard version (left) is limited to 100 and costs $40, while the foil variant is limited to 20 and costs $50. Both editions are signed and numbered.

[4eternal-life]

Kazuo KITAI  /Japanese, b.1944

Teikoh / Resistance

Publisher: Murai-sha, Tokyo Year: 1965 First Edition

The shape of an LP, this is the first book by Japanese photographer Kazuo Kitai, documenting student protests in the early 1960s; SIGNED by Kitai in Kanji. Interestingly, several blurred and grainy pictures would seem to presage the work of the Provoke photographers. According to Kitai, both Daido Moriyama and Takuma Nakahira - the founders of ‘Provoke’ - were huge admirers of the book. Moriyama in fact instructed his students to buy this book. Kitai was also the publisher of Ihei Kimura's "Paris," and the recipient of the first Ihei Kimura award for his 1976 book "To the Village."

A publisher's defect to the inside of the rear cover has caused a few abrasions both on that page, and also on the opposing page, which is the last photograph in the book; middle signature detached and now laid in; a good copy in photo-illustrated wrappers.

https://www.harpersbooks.com/pages/books/12728/kazuo-kitai/teikoh

[smbhax]

‘Elizabeth Shippen Green, 1871-1954, Philadelphia, oil on artists board, published in color in "Harpers Weekly" 1911, Titled "Tapestries of Twilight" and again in Richard Le Gallienne's "Maker Of Rainbows and Fables" illustrating the story "The Rags of Queen Cophetua". labeled on the verso "The Rags of Queen Cophetua, after she would steel away by herself and enter that secret Gallery-", signed lower left Elizabeth Shippen Green. 23.8" high by 15.25" wide.’

[theolsentimes]

Harper's Bazaar Australia, August 2006

“Sometimes we have people pull a bunch of clothes and we can grab them off the rack. We usually wear our own pieces and put together our own outfits. I think people who use the same stylist — I won't mention names but you can pick them out — have the same look. I'd rather do my own thing.” It's this fashion svantism that has endeared both Mary-Kate and sister Ashley to designers and fans alike. But she is at pains to explain that she doesn't set out to keep both her tween fans and the international fashion set happy — it just turned out that way. “I think it would be a disaster if I dressed to please both of them,” she says. “If I did try, I don't know what I'd wear. I just go for whatever I feel comfortable in and whatever I think is going to be the new look.”

[toutpetitlaplanete]

Joani Tremblay - Untitled (napthol red), 2022

[starringcupidpodcast]

Ep. 8: Harper + Charlie

This week we're in the madness of matchmaking and talking about Harper Moore and Charlie Young, from Netflix's Set It Up.

Join Zama as she gushes about sunshine x grumpy grinch pairings, why Charlie had a little growing up to do, how Harper needed to fall out of love with her boss, and why we love despite.

This week's battle takes it to the romantic streets of New York cit-tay with a modern and classic throw down.

Do be sure to follow us on Twitter @ StarringCupid and on Tumblr @ Starringcupidpodcast for updates and more content.

[mademoiselle-is-a-fairy]

Ivana Trivic photographed by Juankr for Harper's Bazaar Serbia October 2024