#i always liked Tim’s intro issue

[sing-me-under]

There’s something that rubs me wrong about the headcanon of Dick being ethnically and culturally Romani. It’s a good headcanon. I like the fics that use this well…. But it’s very often not used well. It feels like forced diversity sometimes, like a unique thing for people to gawk at and prod.

I imagine that maybe a grandparent on one side may have been Roma, but it’s almost entirely absent in Dick’s upbringing. Alternatively, I personally prefer a Dick Grayson who was born in Europe but raised from a young age in America. Or a Dick Grayson whose parents recently moved to North America from Europe with Haly’s Circus and he was born in like Indiana or Alberta, Canada or something. Culturally, he was raised with a whole melting pot of European cultures from the adults of Haly’s Circus. Maybe he was the first born in America, and as a result, the adults intentionally chose to have him integrated into US culture.

(You probably can’t tell, but I’m projecting hard onto Dick Grayson. I grew up with my parents’ culture and it was my second language for so much of my childhood, but I’m in my mid-20s and so distant from it all that I can barely even remember basic mannerisms and vocabulary. When people ask me what I identify as, I say American because that’s about all it means to me now. I like Filipino food and music and stories, but it’s only about as much as I like the food and music and stories of say Japan or Italy. I love food history and anthropology and the like, so it’s just a thing I’m interested in rather than something I feel connected to. It’s incredibly hard to keep your cultural identity alive when there’s no one to share it with, especially if you’re detached from it at a young age (lots of family either passed away or married into white families and adapted). But there’s something oddly comforting about hearing Tagalog or even just the accent from a stranger.)

[aalghul]

comics are difficult to get into and the inconsistencies can be annoying/confusing and there is a lot of material to get through if you want to read major characters. but: it’s never so serious that you should let this stuff overwhelm you. just pick stuff up and try to figure out what’s going on. if you have a hard time going through a character’s reading order chronologically, just pick an event and read the issues for that specific story (trade paperbacks will make your life easier here). it’s literally not a commitment, tou can jump around however you like. reading comics isn’t homework, it should be fun

[fancyfade]

2009 era Damian reading

As I've been doing my 2009 era Damian reading, I'm trying to condense the good stuff and bad stuff, and things I believe are relevant for his character. These are in addition to what I assume is obvious (Batman and Robin 2009, the comic where he has a starring role).

Battle for the Cowl: this has how Damian becomes Robin. It's not necessarily good. Daniels really does not understand Damian, especially this early in his writing, but it does have some important context for things going down b/c Damian helps Squire save Tim's life, and we can see Dick viewing training Damian as something he is responsible for.

Secret Origins (2014) #4: This is a much more in character Damian becoming Robin, though fit for a condensed new 52 timeline that leaves some stuff out (like Damian's rocky intro with Bruce).

Batman #688 (Long Shadows part 1): Winick seems one of the early writers who does a Damian as he lines up with later characterization (views himself more as a professional assassin), so I think this one's good.

Batman: streets of Gotham #1-6: damian makes some minor appearances here.

Batgirl #5-7: Always take Damian's guest-starring stuff with a grain of salt, as often times writers just go with "how would an obnoxious 10 year old boy act here" without understanding he's a specific kind of obnoxious 10 year old boy... that said I do like some of his interactions with Steph, and I think it's incredibly important that we see Damian defends his competence based on his training, not on his blood.

Like he'll sometimes justify why he belongs based on his blood (which like... no one acts like they want him around), but he isn't going around saying "I'm better than you b/c I'm batman's son". he was trained intensely since birth (and that's why he should say he's better than you :P)

Batman #692-697: not a ton of Damian in this, and it is Daniel's writing, but he's a little better than he was in Battle for the Cowl. We see Dick training Damian some.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #7, #10-#11: love this plotline for him. Good show of competence and characterization.

Blackest night: batman: More focused on Tim and Dick, and Tomasi sucks at writing Babs, but at there is some Damian content that I remember enjoying.

Red Robin #11-15: as long as you read this one with your brain turned on, it's good for explaining some Tim and Damian stuff. Sadly some fans are like "woooo arrogant 10 year old gets beat up". Nicieza makes some missteps (frames Tim's thinking around Damian as coldly logical, when it is anything but and he is reacting from a place of emotion), but one can ignore those.

Batman #703: shows Damian's character pretty well in a default Batman and Robin adventure, and his relationship (or lackthereof) with Bruce and his dynamic with Dick and Alfred

Teen Titans #88-92 (including Red Robin #20 in a crossover plot): surprised by how well I liked this one. I think it portrays Damian pretty fairly, and we can see that he is trying hard, but hasn't been given a lot of support up until now (or even now, Dick kind of just drops him off with a bunch of older kids who all also have issues and are predisposed to disliking him XD). His dynamic with rose is fun and I think it is notable how quickly he does acquiesce to following Cassie's orders when she's like (at first) the only Teen Titan who is OK with him being there and assures him its not personal when she makes a comment he doesn't like.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batman and Robin: Has some nice Dick and Damian banter, showcases how they've worked together well

Batgirl #17: more damian and steph interactions.

I will probably add more (either editing this post or in a reblog) as I keep reading.

[vinelark]

Hi! Just curious, what are your favorite comic runs? I've finished the comics on my current to-read list so I love hearing what other people like!

hello! as always i’m sure i’m forgetting plenty of stuff but these are some of my favs, both completed and ongoing series.

completed:

batman: the knight (2022)

miniseries, 10 issues total, so it’s extremely readable and really satisfying in a short amount of time! i like zdarsky’s bruce a lot (i’ve also enjoyed his work on the current batman run) and carmine di giandomenico’s art is fantastic. also, it’s the ghost-maker origin story and bruce & khoa somehow get divorced at least twice before the story’s over. love that for them.

superman: american alien (2015)

anthology collection about clark kent through the years, a really great read for superman—digging into clark’s character rather than focusing on external plot!—with some great cameos too (like young adult clark getting mistaken for some rich guy named bruce wayne at a yacht party, or reporter clark running into pre-robin dick grayson).

future state (2021) batman: dark detective

i am not immune to dan mora’s bruce wayne, especially when he is skrunkly and beat up the whole time.

batman: urban legends (2021)

an anthology so you can kind of pick up/put down as you like! these are a good read if you don’t want to be tracking huge overarching plotlines for a bit. the first few issues have a great jason series too.

ongoing series aka my current pulls at the comic shop:

spirit world (2023)

this one is new and is SO fun and compelling; i love xanthe already, and the assorted cast (including constantine and cass!) and new side characters (bowen my beloved, i’d die for you if you weren’t already dead) are delightful. one of those comics where i’m genuinely interested in the plot too and not just reading for my favs. alyssa wong is doing some really cool things with this concept/cast and i hope they have a chance to do way more in this world.

batman/superman world’s finest (2022)

again, i am not immune to dan mora, or the delightful superbat of it all. (and robin!dick! i love him.) i also started reading waid’s teen titans spin-off that takes place in this same era and there are only a few issues out so far but i’m having a great time.

city boy (2023)

i am OBSESSED with this concept (sentient cities! sharp-edged/lonely character figuring out his connection to them!) and the writing is super fun so far. also the intro comic (free on kindle/elsewhere; also has a free spirit world issue) has a great nightwing run-in.

i’m also subscribed to nightwing, superboy: the man of tomorrow, action comics (anything with kon crumbs…), and dark knights of steel (listen…i am still holding out hope for more royal court spy!tim crumbs), and i don’t know much about shazam yet but i’m giving the new series a try too.

[horsechestnut]

I'm making a Batfam reading order list, not of every appearance of every character, but of important appearances & comic runs, organized by issue release date. I'm trying to color code it so you can see at a glance which character each issue is for, but the problem is sometimes more than one character is important to the story. I tried creating a color to indicate multiple characters and then make a note of which characters it's for, but I don't love that and would like input on how other people would like it to look. Here's an example of what the chart looks like:

Here are the options I see:

Always use the mutli character color when there are multiple important characters (not just a cameo)

Color the box to reflect the most important character, but make a note of the other's appearance in it. (ex- Detective Comics #647 is Steph's intro so it's her color, despite also being an important issue for Tim)

If it's a solo run always make it the color of the guest character, as we'll assume the lead is in it (ex- Issues of Robin that feature Steph will be her color because of course Tim is present), but use the multiple character color for group runs (Detective Comics, Batman, ect)

Also if anyone knows a way to make the box itself multiple colors (like stripes or something) please let me know! That would be my ideal way to handle the situation, but I have yet to find a way that works.

[evilwickedme]

hey it’s me from the Batman posts! (the one that left the tags abt wanting to get into Batman but having no clue where to start)

If its not too much trouble, I’d love any advice on where to start with Batman or Batfam(?) stuff, I saw someone suggest reading the Batman: Wayne Family Adventures thing on webtoon as an intro to the characters so I’ve been doing that, but I’ve got no clue about any of the official comics or shows/movies/etc. I’ve never read a comic series before so everything is super new to me.

I know different series(?)/versions(?) can be wildly different bc of different writers and stuff, I definitely trust your taste on what would be good / enjoyable bc the posts you’ve been reblogging are like 90% of whats gotten me interested in the first place

Thank you, and absolutely no rush!!

Hey I am legit SO happy that you sent me this ask this is literally my favorite thing to do!!!!

So to start with I do actually agree that wfa is a good starting point but for a different reason than I feel most people would recommend it. The thing about wfa is that it has a consistent design for every character, is humorous, touches not only on the main batfamily members but also many extended members, other noteworthy people in Gotham, and the batfamily's cast of friends and teammates as well. This means that while its approach to characterization is incredibly fanon-y, it's a good basis for how to continue. You read wfa, and you know that Dick is the first robin, wears ridiculous costumes, was batman for a bit, is nightwing, part of the teen titans... this isn't a lot, but it's just enough to orient yourself before jumping into some of the most convoluted art ever created, aka the comic world.

Another tip I'm gonna give you is to let yourself be confused. I think the people who end up sticking with comics are people who are aware that if they pick up a comic it's very likely the writers and artists have read and worked on comics that you haven't read yet or even heard of, so you're always going to be missing something. That's fine. If something is really important to the plot, it gets explained; if it's not, it's windowdressing. Often there'll be little boxes saying what comic and issue they're referencing, so if you find it interesting you can just go read it - otherwise, if it's not there, you can google it, or go to any comic fan and ask "hey do you know what this is about?" and if they know, they will answer. There is nothing a comic fan wants more than to explain how to get into their favorite character/s, trust me.

Anyway this has been a very wordy intro but here are some potential starting points for the batfamily!

Bruce Wayne

You know who he is. Pick up an issue of Batman or Detective Comics and he's there. Pick up an issue of any other DC comic and there's like a 30% chance he's there too.

Batman: The Long Halloween

Noir style, investigative, early in batman's career, two face's origin story

It has a sequel-ish story called Batman: Dark Victory that's almost as good

Batman: Hush

Batman: Year One

Frankly there's not going to be much information in this comic you don't already know, but also, it's a classic, so might as well

Batman: A Death in the Family & Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (crossover with the new teen titans)

First story is Jason's death, second is Tim's introduction and arguably the start of the batfamily being a family

Tim drags Dick back into the fray in ALPOD. It's just sort of the kind of thing he does

Do NOT confuse A Death in the Family with Death OF the Family, which is a much newer story, and Not Good

Batman: Under the Red Hood

Jason's villain arc! More details below

Batman himself isn't actually my favorite but you know he's got some decent stuff since he's, uh, the main character. DC doesn't have a multiverse the way Marvel does - and getting into that would be a whole separate ask - but their elseworlds are stories about the characters in different situations. Some ones I've heard good things about include Gotham by Gaslight, Dark Knights of Steel, Batman: Last Knight on Earth, and I keep meaning to get into Batman: White Knight, which is a whole other universe on its own. I've been trying to get into more modern batman stuff and unfortunately I just haven't clicked with anything.

Dick Grayson

Guy has been in a lot of things. If you read a random Batman comics from before 1980, there's a good chance he'll be there.

Teen Titans and The New Teen Titans and Titans (1980s-2000s)

I haven't read enough of these to say much of anything, but he's a founding member of the TT

Nightwing

His post-Robin superhero identity. At first only present in NTT and occasional Batman comics, but eventually he gets his own miniseries in the early 90s, followed by an ongoing. Recently-ish started reading them and they're angsty and very 90s in a lot of ways but I'm enjoying it

Modern Nightwing titles also exist. For sure.

Batman & Robin by Morrison

In one of DC's ten million crises, Bruce "dies", and after a short story called Battle for the Cowl, Dick ends up becoming Batman. Damian is his Robin. It's an interesting time for batman comics, although not necessarily the best writing that Dick has ever gotten.

Batman: The Dark Mirror

Also a great story for the Gordons. Bruce is back from the dead, but Dick is still Batman in Gotham. This was my first even Batman comic and it's really good.

Obviously there's other stories, such as Grayson, where he becomes a super spy for a bit. There's a million and a half reading lists for Dick out there as he's a massively popular character and he's one of the characters DC is pushing the most right now. As with all the rest of these, these are good entry points; from there I trust you to find your way

Barbara Gordon

The original Batgirl, sort of (nobody really brings up bette kane unless they're pointing out that babs wasn't the original Batgirl, she's just not important). She appears sporadically in silver and bronze age batman comics and detective comics, but she quits being Batgirl shortly before being raped and shot in the spine by the joker in Batman: the Killing Joke, which I purposefully did not put on my rec list.

Birds of Prey

Babs-as-Oracle at her best.

Batman: The Dark Mirror

Babs' long lost brother comes back to town. It's fucked up.

I've been reliably told to stay away from her Batgirl runs - most people who are a fan of the character don't like that they retconned Oracle away and it's mostly not very well written. There's a comic called batgirls that lasted about a year that included her, and it's okay.

Jason Todd (my beloved)

MY MAN

Batman: Second Chances

Collected edition of Jason as Robin, so much fun. Extremely silly at times since it's the 80s.

Batman: A Death in the Family

For obvious reasons.

Then he's just sort of dead for 17 years. He shows up in heaven in a Green Arrow issue and is occasionally brought up or shown as a hallucination, but that's about it.

Batman: Under the Red Hood

There's a new crime lord in town and he's so smart and talented and hot omg I wonder who he is!!!!

The collected edition also comes with the annual that reveals how he came back to life

Task Force Z

This shouldn't be as good as it is.

Jason gets recruited to work with a team of undead villains

Jason gets called a hot a bunch of times, and is shirtless a lot. This doesn't matter but you know, like, yeah it does.

For Robin!Jason there's also Batman: The Cult - which I finally got my hands on recently but haven't read yet. For Red Hood!Jason there's lots of stuff, but most of it isn't very good or is actively bad. Most people will tell you to stay away from Red Hood and the Outlaws, and they're right, although the 2016 run is better. Most people will tell you to read Batman & Red Hood: Cheer, and they're wrong, it's ass.

Tim Drake

Frankly this boy has no flops. Or very close to it.

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

Tim figured out who Batman and Robin are at AGE NINE. Respect.

After this he appears in various Batman and detective comics issues, I haven't read any of these.

Robin

The first Robin to get his own ongoing! Like with Nightwing, it started with a miniseries (a few of them, actually) and got turned into a long running series from there. Lasted like 200 issues, too.

Tim FUCKS.

Not Steph's first appearance, but most of her appearances pre-2009 are in this series.

Young Justice 1998

It's insane in all the best ways. Cars have sex on panel. They play baseball to save the world on an alien planet. A power of friendship speech prevents the end of the world. In the first issue, a woman develops breasts so big she falls on her face.

This team eventually breaks apart and Tim along with 3 other teen heroes nicknamed the core four (Superboy, Impulse, & Wonder Girl II) become part of Teen Titans 2003, which I haven't read and is also a bit of a flop era fashion wise for everyone anyway. I do have the volume of TT03 where they meet the versions of themselves from the future and I plan on reading that soon-ish.

In the mid 2000s basically everyone Tim loves dies. Steph died in 2004 ish after a very short stint as Robin. Tim's mom dies, then his dad is murdered, and it's unclear what happened to his step mom, but she was in Bludhaven, which had an atomic bomb dropped on it. Impulse becomes kid flash becomes the flash becomes murdered, and superboy gets killed while saving the world. Steph does turn out to not be dead after all and Impulse and Superboy come back from the dead eventually but by God he's having a tough year BEFORE Bruce "dies".

Red Robin 2009

After Bruce "dies" and Dick becomes Batman, Dick makes Damian his Robin and nobody believes Tim that Bruce is still alive, so he steals the Red Robin costume and goes on a mission to save his dad!

Not a comic to read first because it's so uncharacteristic of Tim as a person, but definitely something to read as soon as possible, because it's ridiculously good.

After flashpoint/n52 Tim doesn't have his own ongoing for a while, but he does come out as bisexual in an early issue of Batman Urban Legends (2021) and he got his own ongoing called Tim Drake: Robin in 2022 which was ugly AF and yet cancelled far too soon. There's a Young Justice run from 2019 I haven't read yet.

Stephanie Brown

For her I would go to Google, bc I haven't gone down the rabbithole enough for her yet. I know her first appearance was in a batman comic where she became spoiler to spoil her dad's plans - her dad being a third rate villain called the cluemaster - and she almost kills him, so good for her. Afterwards she appears every once in a while in various comics, most notably in Robin, where she and Tim as Robin start dating despite him knowing her identity but not the other way around.

Robin 60s (I don't remember the exact issues)

Steph gives birth and gives her baby up for adoption

Robin 126-128

Steph becomes Robin when Tim quits for his still-alive-but-not-for-long dad.

War Games

Steph does a fucky wucky and accidentally starts a gang war which gets her killed

There's another Robin arc where she comes back and it turns out she was never dead, Leslie (the family doctor) simply faked her death and sent her to Africa to recover

Batgirl 2009

Her first and only solo ongoing, but it's really good

She also appears a lot in Cass's Batgirl ongoings, and occasionally shows up in yj98. Her most recent series in Batgirls, which isn't very good but her interactions with Cass are very gay, and we've all been shipping it for 20 years at this point, so frankly it's long overdue. Unlikely to become canon tho, unfortunately.

Cassandra Cain

She doesn't use a lot of words, so neither will I. Probably.

No Man's Land

Frankly I am terrified to read this, it's so many goddamn issues, but this is her first appearance. I have one "volume" and it's as big as the fucking Bible.

Batgirl 2000

She's the first Batgirl to get an ongoing. The one from 2008 I've been reliably told isn't very good. She's absolutely terrifying in the 2000 one, I approve.

Outsiders 2016

Supposed to also be good for Duke content. I think at this point she's going by Orphan? Idk she's had a lot of names.

Idk I prefer Black Bat

Spirit World

Mini series that recently ended. Soooooo good. Alyssa Wong is a top contender for favorite modern writer.

She's mostly a background character. Bc DC is both sexist AND racist. She was also in batgirls.

Damian Wayne

Frankly he's my least favorite of the batkids, but that's not his fault, he's been a victim of a lot of really racist writing.

Batman: Son of the Demon

Somehow both his origin AND an elseworlds that doesn't count. Not required reading, but Bruce and Talia are madly in love in this.

Batman by Grant Morrison

After UTRH and before Dick was forced to become Batman Morrison reintroduced Talia's son, who in this version was a rape baby bc apparently brutalia weren't in love and Talia drugged Bruce. Fucking fine, I guess.

His character growth during his time as robin is sweet tho.

Robin 2021

His only solo ongoing, pretty good

Super Sons

He had two team up comics with then fellow child Jon Kent, son of superman, and it was fucking adorable. Then they aged up Jon to 17, so they're still friends, but Jon has his own shit going on.

Duke Thomas

He's REALLY new, and I haven't read any of it, I'm sorry.

Robin War

Batman and the Signal - I finally got my hands on the first issue of this last week!

The Outsiders 2016

Frankly they should capitalize on the Duke & Cass friendship/siblingship more often.

Alfred Pennyworth

I haven't read it, but there's a series called Pennyworth about his days as a spy for the crown. Supposed to be pretty good.

Kate Kane

The Jewish lesbian batwoman of our dreams

Batwoman: Elegy

Her introduction

Also, it's written by Greg Rucka, and if he can do one thing, it's write sapphic women. I'm not even joking.

Get the newer edition that has both of her original Rucka stories

Batwoman ongoings

She's had a couple, they're both supposed to be pretty solid, I've only read a few issues here and there

Batman in other media

Animated: I'm currently watching Batman the Animated Series for the first time and it seems to really get Bruce as a character, even if Robin will be there one episode and his existence will be a plot hole in the next. The Justice League animated series has also been fun so far. Teen Titans have gotten a number of animated adaptations all of which have pretty strong followings. There's an animated show called "Young Justice" which is a Teen Titans show and I refuse to watch it (it has a very devout following, but all that means is that the Young Justice - All Media Types tag on ao3 is just the same as Young Justice Cartoon and I have to filter heavily when looking for yj98 fics). Lego Batman is a REALLY fun film, and I think it turned into a whole franchise.

Live action TV: I have watched the first season of both Titans and Gotham, but both of those were before I was into the batfamily as a concept. My impression of Titans is overall negative and my impression of Gotham is overall positive.

Live action movies: There are so many Goddamn Batman movies. I like the Dark Knight Trilogy, but even calling it "based on" the Dark Knight comic trilogy is giving it a lil more credit than it deserves. The Batman 2022 is massively popular with the comic fandom for a reason - I'm not a big fan of it, but I did enjoy laughing at the movie so at least there's that. Batfleck sucks. I haven't seen anything else, up to and including the Joker movie. Oh, and Birds of Prey was really good, but that's not Cass.

Video games: The Arkham trilogy is well loved and I have indeed just bought it, but I haven't gotten to it because I'm currently working on Gotham Knights and uh. Okay so listen. This game is a lot of fun and I will be finishing it. But it's like. Got a massively antisemitic plot point. I can't even say I don't recommend it, I'm genuinely enjoying the game a lot. But I've never seen anybody bring this up, and it's bugging me.

ANYWAY I'm sure I've missed a LOT but this is introductory so you know I'm giving myself grace. There's characters I completely skipped and I'm sure mega fans of characters I haven't read much of will be offended that I said such and such about them but you know it's only been about a year and a half since I started reading dc comics and I'm still figuring it all out. And I probably will still be figuring it out for the next decade. To me that's actually part of the fun of it.

[blackbatcass]

Recommendation request- I'm currently in a weird spot where I consider myself a big Dick Grayson fan, but I only know him from stuff like Titans books and Outsiders 03, and I've never really read any proper Bat-adjacent books with him so I have a hard time conceptualizing his place in the bat family. Any particular favorite runs or issues that focus on that aspect of the character?

Yeah i can help with that!!

If you want to get a good feel for Dick as a character on his own your best bet would probably be Nightwing (1996) although it is very long and not always perfect. For batbooks:

If you want to look into his Robin days I think Robin: Year One is like a must. Only four issues and it's very fun!

Robin and Batman (2021) is also like gutwrenching but so so good and explores Bruce and Dick's early relationship

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying and Batman: Prodigal are good intros to specifically Dick & Tim's relationship! Alpod is Tim's introduction and Prodigal is the first time Dick got to fill in as Batman, after everything with Knightfall. Prodigal especially is essential Dick reading!

Cataclysm and Batman: No Man's Land are very very long but I think are pretty essential batfam reading, like it kind of created the concept of the batfamily lol. Dick isn't featured in it too overly much compared to everyone else but you can look up his specific appearances if you only want to read for him!

Bruce Wayne: Murderer? and its sequel Bruce Wayne: Fugitive are, of course, Thee batman comics of all time. They're arcs with a full ensemble batfam cast that I think will help show Dick's various relationships & place in the batfam!

Batman/Nightwing: Bloodborne is only one issue but it is a phenomenal exploration of Bruce and Dick's relationship. augh

If you're interested in his relationship with Damian and the Dickbats era, your best bet is probably Batman and Robin (2009), Batman (1940) #684-707, and Gates of Gotham. That whole era is...let's say... A Mess and there was just sooo much going on, you might want to look for a more complete reading list if you want to experience the whole era and context but those are the stories that focus the most on Dick and his relationships.

Batman: The Black Mirror is also a very good Dickbats story!

That was probably way more than you wanted but i hope it helps!!

[zahri-melitor]

Newish Comics:

The Nice House by the Sea #2: check in with Walter's House! They just got a dog!

The Flash #12: if I close my eyes to things like Si Spurrier clearly doesn't care about Bart's actual characterisation, this was very Flash and very metaphysical-love-powers-the-Speed-Force in the way its crowning issues tend to go. Solid cap to the opening run.

I would have liked, you know, if at some point someone had more explicitly acknowledged Linda has had post partum depression since Wade was born, but at least we got her to mention that her existing issues were amplified and exploited, not imposed out of nowhere. (Not that we always need comics to do PSAs but goddamnit this was an opportunity for a PSA about a serious issue reaching a target audience who probably don't get as many messages about checking in with and on friends/relatives who have recently given birth)

Green Arrow #15: please let Cissie and whoever Red Canary (Sienna) is go home. Why are they here, Williamson. It's fine, Roy's a good team commander, Ollie got to acknowledge his relationship with Lian, but oh god if you dumped Cissie and Sienna somewhere maybe you could use that space to give Mia and Emiko some actual characterisation???

(Also Ollie's at-least-triple-cross gets more complicated, why does anyone, ANYONE out there think OLIVER QUEEN is going to agree with Waller about heroes needing to be depowered???)

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #3: this remains fun, Zee finally casts some magic, and Constantine turns up to help out (by causing problems).

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #16: okay fine, Tim Seeley managed to wrap his Nightwing & Deadman story up with themes I like. Second story is straight 'why we have cops'.

Montoya story: hey Tot! Also, outing Renee, AGAIN, is how we're playing the intro into getting her back to the Question full time? Uhhhhhh.

Final story: never going to be mad about Karen and Mal hanging out being a couple and being superheroes.

Gotham City Sirens #4: oh thank goodness it's over. Good for Alexis just staying evil for evils sake.

The Warlord #65: this week in Skartaris Jennifer Morgan makes it very clear she's actually Homo Magi given how fast she picked up magic.

Love the aesthetic, honestly. Picks up Travis' costume notes.

On the downside because we're dealing with the past again, Mongo Ironhand is back. Hi, irritating dwarf. Because apparently DC and Marvel aren't being hugely litigious at this point in time, Mongo is still trying to become the Sorcerer Supreme of long long ago Skartaris.

Anyway Machiste tries to brain Mikola, Mikola and Mariah finally see each other again, and Travis is so annoyed he's missing out on some quality fighting between his various friends he convinces Jenny to take them both back in time to sort everyone out.

[damian-lil-babybat]

So what do DC fans do when they are six-feet down frustrated with DC's decisions..they make fix-it headcanons and fanarts! (Only Wayne Family Adventures can save us, apparently...huhuhu, I was so hopeful for DC Dawn but it has to happen)

Sooooo, here's a suggestion, one major problem of DC is the Robin Mantle.

We have Tim Drake, who with the ambiguous ending of his Robin run '(2022) Tim Drake: Robin', he said he doesn't want to be Batman, nor Robin?? So is this a call out of his possible new path? But come on, he is still very active in Batman donning his Robin Suit, so maybe it's just the usual 'finding your own path' narrative of a Robin while still doing the status quo.

Aand Damian Wayne has just finished his Lazarus Tournament Arc phase on the '(2021) Robin' series, and has made up with Batman (in Lazarus Planet Event), and has rightfullly refused the offer of both his mother and father to follow their footsteps.

So now having known what we know...it is simple. DC should just hammered in the difference of the two, coz they are very very different strengths and flaws NOW. (It has always been, but their skillsets were practically interchangeable, with Tim having the edge of experience, wholistically-trained with a cool head but is insecure, and Dami having talent for the job but is overconfident and has a temper and trust issues).

But now, Dami has been hinted heavily to have 'magic' in his blood. This should be a big deal.

I mean, what is stopping DC in making Damian the Robin who focuses on the magical and voodoo cases of Gotham?

It would not only let the two Robins continue to operate with Batman, it would make them have separate jurisdiction on Batman's case files, with Tim helping Batman on his usual detective work, and Damian learning more of his powers, building immunity (coz how many times has been that he was used by demons, devils, and dark forces of the multiverses, like srsl? Batman, this is a literal threat to everyone and this is not even a discussion in your training book?). Also different specialization makes it easier for the two to find and ground themselves again. Like, it has been high-time to have one resident-batfam who focuses mainly on THAT, aside from Azrael. And with Azrael being the Angel of Death, and Dami being the grandson of the Demon Head, the tandem and potential is there?? Hopefully, it is still Michael Lane, coz having an underground trained-to-be-Batman's-replacement who eventually got insance and became Bat-Devil only to convert into a lliteral incarnation of an Angel....the parallel>>>to DAMI? So good. The resurrection and salvation bit for the two would be so nice to put in comics.

Hecck, Dami training under Constantine and Zatanna woould be sick.

And it doesn't have to make Damian more OP with magic on his arsenal. It could simply just his magical powers are limited to immunity from the dark arts (coz he trained the fuck out of it, *intro, training montage). So he is still a badass mini-Batman but just highly trained against the supernatural. (IF this happened, please don't let this be his whole personality coz it'll boxed Dami in a one-trick pony, that's why it should be just immunity/dispell skills...or a one-off channeling of his superpowers when he resurrected before...the possibilities are nice to play with. Just give him a flaw...like he can study on academic levels the magics but he cannot sense them the way a magically-gifted person could).

And this is only until Tim Drake finds his own superhero-persona. Coz 'til now, there's no organic way for Tim to move forward to.

So we have the colorful Robin, and the monochromed Robin. I say, let's return Red Robin to Tim, and make Damian the White Robin...

...or Dark Robin, or Bat Robin...but they all sound like the DC Metalverse Robin Versions, so I still lean in to 'White Robin' coz they are rare and is good call-out when he got resurrected and was in all white clothes.

Also when Damian first appeared, he was in a black and white overall which could easilly be interpreted how he is blanced on the weighing scale on good and bad. Now, he is good, just that, he does not let his father, or anyone at that matter, dictate the colors he would wear...he is still figuring it out, after all.

[avroravia]

out of curiosity, what do you think each of the mythical!readers sort of backstory is? feel free to ignore this, and i love the idea so much it’s really cool!

tysm! you’re so sweet <3

i actually already thought of these when i was typing the intro post! i’d be happy to write more specific things if anybody has any more quesions! <3

mermaid is an only child to a soc couple. her dad was always out of town for work and never really present in her life, and when he did come home, he would essentially live in his office. her mom was a stay-at-home wife, and she really did love mermaid, but she definitely had a lot of her own issues that caused a strain in their relationship. i’d say mermaid’s parents had around a 7-10 year age gap, with her mom being younger. her mom is a pretty vain woman, and her main focus is on her appearance. she would always say things to mermaid growing up (like when she was a literal child) about her face and body that made her a bit self conscious. mermaid is an only child, but she has a million little cousins running around who she takes care of, and she loves them like they are her own siblings. these things made her super independent at a young age, and she never really caught a break from it. when mermaid eventually opened up to darry about how she grew up, it was a weird moment of realisation that people with money can have problems too. it was kind of a shared struggle that they both had to be independent at a young age, and they both felt like it was nice to share that burden with the person they love.

vampire has one older sister, who’s about 10x more scary than she is. their parents had them really young, and they don’t have a good relationship with one another or vampire and her sister. they were both alcoholics, and pretty deadbeat. i don’t think they were very physically abusive with their kids, but it was very emotional. this caused her older sister to move out right after her 18th birthday, and vampire moved out with her a few years after when she turned 17. the two of them have a very close relationship that kinda works like, ‘you’re the only person i have,’ until vampire started dating dallas. i think vampire’s sister had a brief relationship/fling with buck. dallas was into vampire the moment he met her, but when he found out she was sisters with ‘that one scary girl buck used to date’ it scared him off a bit, but he bounced back super fast. dallas never asked vampire about her home life, but he listened when she opened up about it. dallas understood it well, and it strengthened their bond further.

ghost lives a much happier life compared to her counterparts, with two loving parents and a cute baby sister. her family is lower middle-class, but they make enough to get by. ghost grew up in a small house, and when she was around 15 her parents adopted her little sister. they chose to do this because they wanted another kid, but her mom was too old for that strain on her body. ghost loves her sister to death, and her little sister definitely looks up to her. when tim met her family for the first time, they were all so sweet and polite. he had never been used to a stable home growing up, and it was a new experience for sure. angela loves ghost and her sister so much, and she’s always babysitting ghost’s sister whenever her and tim go out on a date.

dryad is a middle child and the only girl in her family. she was raised in an upper middle-class home, with her two brothers. her older brother is already married, and lives with his own partner, and her younger brother is around 9 years old. despite the 5-6 year age gap, they still fight all the time which makes their parents laugh. because dryad’s the middle child, she can sometimes feel a bit forgotten. that’s part of the reason why she loves johnny so much, because he’s so focused on dryad and he remembers everything. dryad’s parents are super polite people, and a bit on the older side. when johnny met dryad’s whole family for the first time, he was kind of surprised at how wholesome their dynamic was. her brothers aren’t the type to be super harsh with the boys their sister dates, and they were very welcoming of johnny. her older brother’s partner was also very kind and polite.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Thoughts after re-watching Taskmaster s02e01:

- Watching this has reminded me that when I saw this season for the first time, and had heard of none of the contestants in it before – this was even before my phase of watching 8 Out of 10 Cats/Catsdown and getting really really into Jon Richardson – my favourite was Richard Osman. This was established in the very first task, when he was the only person who thought to bring the mat down the hill instead of trying to get all the balls up the hill. I immediately decided I liked this guy, who was so matter-of-fact about how smart he was. He continued this pragmatic approach throughout the episode. In the potato throw task, he was the only person to cross the red green by covering in things he was allowed to touch. In the task where they had to get information out of Fred the Swede, he was the only person to use the tactic of getting the guy to spell out his answers by having Richard ask about each letter and Fred would say yes or no. Which is the most reliable way to do it, if you have a task in which you have to find an answer by only asking yes or no questions, and it always bugs me when someone struggles with one but doesn’t think to do that. Richard Osman was pragmatic and intelligent in his approach to tasks throughout the season, but really showed that off in episode 1, capping it off by winning the live task. I remember I was rooting for him for the rest of the season.

- @youpricksneverwalk has worked out before that there’s a pattern of people getting referenced in one season, and then appearing in a later season, and going on to win it. Sam Campbell was referenced in season 7 because he drew a picture that James Acaster brought in as a prize. Ed Gamble was referenced in season 5 because he stole from Greg for Mark Watson. John Robins was referenced in season 3 because Sara Pascoe brought in his clock as a prize – and he hasn’t won yet, but we’re pretty close to that.

I have an addition to the people who got referenced and then appeared later, and amazingly, it keeps the pattern going! Jon Richardson brings in a certificate he got for doing the “highest ever stand-up gig” because he did one on a plane, and says Dara O’Briain and Jack Whitehall both did support. Dara, of course, later appeared on Taskmaster and won. We have yet to see Jack, and it’s probably fine if they keep it that way.

We’ve also discussed some other comedians who’ve been referenced before and could possibly appear in future seasons to continue this trend. Noel Fielding brought in a picture of him and Julian Barratt as a prize once. Steve Pemberton referenced Reece Shearsmith in one of his prize tasks. Tim Key brought in an excuse note about appearing in Daniel Kitson’s play, though Kitson appearing on Taskmaster is more theoretically possible than a genuine possibility (however, I have said “I’d really love this person on Taskmaster but of course it would never happen” before and then been proven wrong, so technically you never know…). Re-watching s02e01 has reminded me of another one (in addition to Jack Whitehall) – Katherine Ryan calls Sofie Hagan for help during the task where she needs to translate Swedish.

They also had Susie Dent give her ruling on a semantic issue at one point, and she could be fun on a New Year’s Treat sometime.

- They really did jump right into this one. Halfway through, I went back to check and be sure I was, in fact, watching the first episode. That potato throw incident, with voting on disqualifying Joe, was the second ever task of the season. Normally they take a bit of time to warm up first, don’t jump right in with something that intense. Even the task of getting the balls up the hill was pretty intense, with Jon, Joe, and Doc all losing their minds. That was a great intro to the season though. I guess you have to just jump right in when you only have five episodes in total. No time for getting to know anyone.

- This might be an unpopular view, but I think the jokes about Greg and Alex having sex with each other were funnier when they were slightly more subtle in the early seasons, when they’d sort of come out of nowhere and catch you off guard. As opposed to being quite so constant.

- This isn’t really relevant, but Richard Osman looks too big. He sits in those studio chairs and looks like a cartoon character in a comically small chair. He walks around the house and looks like he doesn’t fit in it. I think he’s the same height as Greg, but I don’t notice Greg looking too big, in the day-to-day shots, the way I do with Richard Osman. I guess that’s because Greg mostly just sits on a chair that’s been made for someone his size (as opposed to the contestant chairs that are too small for Richard Osman), but I think of other things I’ve seen Greg do, and he didn’t look that out of place. Greg Davies walked around the We Are Klang set and just looked like a regular tall person. Richard Osman looks like a human walking around a Lego set.

- The frequent "four comedians and Richard Osman" jokes are funny. You wouldn't get that these days, because it's normal to have vaguely comedy-adjacent non-comedians on Taskmaster. But I think Richard was the first - everyone in season 1 was a comedian (though there was one "four comedians and the poet Tim Key" joke), and everyone in season 2 besides Osman is a comedian.

- Katherine Ryan was noticeably good in this episode too, even if I've gone off her these days. I think Taskmaster played to her strengths well, she's funny when she's doing the "take charge attitude" thing, pretty much equally funny when she succeeds and when she falters. Also I found her speech about not caring where the ball goes in sports funny - I assume that was shoehorned stand-up? It sounded like it, though the only stand-up hours I've heard from her are from after this so I don't know. It was funny anyway. I don't mind shoehorned stand-up on panel shows when it's funny.

- It is funny to watch this again now that I know Doc Brown is the only person to ever go on the Taskmaster podcast and say he hated filming this show (though Russell Howard came pretty close to saying that - every other person has said they loved it). I wouldn't have noticed on a first watch, but he doesn't look like he's having a great time.

[jq37]

It was a good first episode. There's always some growing pains before they lock down the dynamic, but this was a solid introduction to what's coming down the pipeline. Murph and Emily successfully broke my heart the most. One's marriage is crumbling and the other's just a really traumatized child. Lou and Ally character's are pretty great and seem to have the most plot going on ATM. That voice Lou's doing is such a choice. Zac and Siobhan need more time before we can fully sink our teeth in. PIB is entertaining, but that's all we got so far. And while I'm desperately trying to block out Siobhan's intro, beyond the stressful horror, Rosamund didn't give us a lot character wise. Looking forward to getting stressed out by the rest of the season.

I was a big fan of this first episode! There was a lot of interesting stuff intro'd with all the new PCs (and I really got a sense of like...Once Upon a Time but competent lol). I already went through my thoughts a bit in the recap for the week but here are some more casual thoughts on everyone.

(1) Rosamund: Roz seems to have retained a lot of her princess niceties and demeanor which is honestly impressive considering her entire Situation. I'm wondering if this is going to be a Ruby style arc where she turns jaded eventually or if she's just going be Like This the whole time. A sunshine-y character in a crapsack world is always an interesting contrast. Also, we kind of started and ended with her since Pinocchio was warned that someone was coming for her. I'm curious if the fairy who cursed her is the same fairy that Pinocchio met.

(2) Ger: Brennan does this really cool thing where the end of the world is happening but you're like, "Oh no! This character cheated on this other character!" The human drama stuff feels just as weighty and often more weighty than the life or death stuff. That's how I feel about Ger's whole situation. He's really a dude in need of some serious self-reflection and I'm charmed by how pathetic he is. The issues he's having with his wife are so grounded in reality, even though they involve conversations that start, "Remember who we started dating when I was a frog?" Can't wait to see more of him--and hopefully Elodie at some point too. Where is she Brennan???

(3) Tim: Once again, everything with the Gander is totally messed up. I really hate the idea of accidentally stumbling into a kind of eldritch pact. You're right that there's a very clear plot hook with him and his mission with the book. From the way it was framed, it almost seems like the book has the "correct" or at least more wholesome versions of the tales in it somehow. Or is a gateway to where those versions exist? Because Brennan said it was their town but without the flooding and Jack looked like how he "was meant to be" or something like that. A lot to think about.

(Sidenote: Me and my friend were joking about whether the bad guy this season was going to be capitalism, or the church and my halfway joking answer is capitalism in the form of some version of the Disney Corporation lol.)

(4) Puss: I don't have a lot to say about Puss that I haven't already said in my recap but I love Zac putting his all into his cat mannerisms and I really love this grounded look at what would actually happen after the Puss in Boots story. Looking forward to getting more info.

(5) Red: Yikesssssssssssssssssssss. Emily just went for the jugular right away, huh? As usual, no notes Ms. Axford. I think it's super cool they mixed the Red story and the Big Bad Wolf story. I wonder if/when we're going to get details on how it went down with her grandma because we never got that. I feel like Emily might steal the emotional killshot crown from Siobhan for me this season.

(6) Pinocchio: OK first of all, no one can say Lou doesn't commit to the bit. Second of all, as I said in my recap and at the top in Roz's section, there's clearly something afoot here. Why does Pinocchio’s stepmom want Roz kept safe? And who even is she? My pet theory (based on very little info to be fair) is that she's Cinderella herself somehow but she could very easily be lots of other people (one of the stepsisters is a guess I didn't mention in my recap). Clearly, we're missing a ton of puzzle pieces here so I'm eager to get more. Also, I’m gonna be so mad when Lou is having a super emotional scene and he’s talking Like That. You monster.

One last thing: I'm curious about the timeline here. Since Roz has been asleep for 100 years it seems, how does that slot in with everything else? How long has this plan involving her been in motion. If Sleeping Beauty happened 100 years ago, when did—for instance--the Cinderella story happen (if it happened)?

OK, that’s what I got. Looking forward to the next ep on Wed!

[roobylavender]

who are your favorite writers of bruce and the dynamics he has w other batfam ? i remember you mentioning some writers you specifically dislike lol but im interested in some genuine recs :)

this is a very late answer and i apologize for that! off the top of my head:

bruce and dick: mike w. barr (early to mid 80s). his stuff for these two is far and few in between like it's a few back pages stories and then the occasional crossover between the titans and outsiders but i really adore how he writes bruce as this concerned parent who can sometimes be overbearing and protective but ultimately wants dick to succeed and so when dick feels suffocated bruce is more than willing to correct himself and back off. like it achieves the two things of holding bruce accountable while not painting him like some emotionally stunted abuser who makes all of dick's choices for him so i appreciate it loads

bruce and jason: mike w. barr (early to mid 80s); max allan collins (post-crisis intro arc). i don't think there is a lot to say here like they're the two writers who are probably the most sympathetic to jason as a human being and hence the way they write bruce's relationship with him is really nice. i'm not a fan of starlin or winick for obv reasons

bruce and tim: alan grant (early to mid 90s). alan grant to me was the perfect person to bring in following dick and jason's exit bc he provided the perfect amount of introspection and self-awareness for bruce to actually be a quite practical mentor to tim. like admittedly yeah a lot of that went down the drain once knightfall happened but i nonetheless think this was bruce at his most active and corrective stage of mentorship bc he was more aware of the consequences of his choices and really wanted to instill in tim that this wasn't a game they were playing at

bruce and stephanie: there's like one issue of gotham knights, #22, written by devin grayson (i know. i know) that i absolutely cling to bc it's really the first (and only) glimmer of hope for steph's relationship with bruce i think. like after multiple issues of tim and bruce being total dickhead misogynists to steph bc this kind of thing is absolutely unavoidable in dixon's writing it's so nice to see a bruce who is awkward but appreciative of steph's effort and unbothered by her tendency to babble bc it fills the quiet. i wanted that explored more between them sooooo badly but unfortunately scott beaty (i think. cmiiw) went on the whole bruce calling steph an inadequate failure shtick and ruined my life forever and i never read a batman comic again

bruce and leslie: mike w. barr (smattering across 80s and 90s). i would say the most heavy handed work to develop leslie as a foil to bruce adamant on pacifism was done by barr. barr in general was probably the most left leaning writer in bat editorial pre-00s so while his politics are not perfect (he tends to believe that violence by both the oppressed and the oppressor is bad) he was able to capitalize on leslie's relationship with bruce the most and i'm very fond of legends of the dark knight #21-23

bruce and selina: bob kane (golden age); mindy newell (late 80s to early 90s). the latter is obv a given if you have been a follower of mine for a while. but i don't think i've spoken on here specifically about how kane truly paints the most distinct picture of selina at her core that miller and newell subsequently capitalized on in their own setting of gotham following the crisis. there's nothing better than catwoman's golden age appearances to convey her thirst for notoriety contrasted with her odd mercies and while it's passed off as a bit of a joke that bruce lets things slide with her bc he thinks she's pretty i also love that it opens the way for him to be sympathetic to her in general, bc he knows she's better than she presents herself to be. bruce should always implicitly trust selina against other people's judgment imo

bruce and talia: mike w. barr (80s into early 90s). i recognize i am developing a pattern here lmao i truly love this man's writing more than that of any other bat writer! but yeah i think there is no one who really understands the complex loyalties and yearning of this dynamic better than barr and more importantly who manages to respect talia's individual agency within that dynamic. he really posits them as equals without any sort of disdain factoring into it and i think it sets him apart from a lot of other writers in the same era

these are the dynamics i can speak to. i've unfortunately never paid close enough attention to writers on issues where bruce's relationships with either gordon feature and then you guys already know i've yet to read up on cass and duke (cries) so i'm no good in that department :/ but i hope these are somewhat useful! the mike w. barr stuff is easy to find if you simply peruse his wikipedia and read all of the batman related stuff and then alan grant is obv the main writer on tec (iirc) for most of the 90s so that's easy enough. mindy newell also has a very small catalogue to her name and the golden age issues with selina you can find through dcu chronology!

[rantingsalad]

finally getting around to watching 13's run in full (just finished rewatching s11, about to start s12) in preparation for the 60th anniversary and i have thoughts. so here's a rambling post to try and sum them up cohesively:

i know i'm not the only one who feels that chibnall's run feels a bit disconnected. part of that was no doubt intentional (new doctor, new showrunner, new start) but it feels a little too disconnected. in fact it almost feels like a spin-off rather than the main series.

Jodie's a good actress, but i'm not entirely sold on 13's personality. one thing about New Who is that you can pretty logically understand the progression of the the Doctor's personalities throughout the various series & regenerations, but 13 feels just a tad off. after 12's run it makes sense that 13 would be lighter & happier, but the way she's written makes it feel more like a regression than a progression. the narrative often makes her come off a over-excitable and less competent, partly because of chibnall's wish to have an unconnected series. i like that we got introductions to the bigger universe of DW instead of the same antagonists over and over, but having 13 constantly not recognizing or not being able to figure things out on her own felt almost condescending.

i like all the companions in theory (except Dan since i haven't seen s13 yet). on paper, they're all very distinct from each other, which was a concern i had since previous companions sometimes felt like different shades of the same color. in practice, i don't think they're developed enough individually for me to form strong feelings about any of them. i feel like the writers took a shortcut expecting viewers to automatically favor the companions and then didn't build enough of a bridge to get me to actually like them as characters.

so far the pacing of nearly every episode also feels off. i'm not as familiar with chibnall's writing signatures as i am with Davies or Moffat, but if i was just basing it off of s11 & s12, i'd say he struggles with self-contained one episode stories. doctor who has always offered a lot of social commentary, but sometimes i think he tries to pack in too many layers that the overall message gets muddled. most episode feel like the intro drags and the ending is rushed. there is an issue with keeping an appropriate level of tension throughout.

this is a personal preference, but i also didn't like the level of connectivity/foreshadowing we got in s11. the stenza get mentioned in s11e1 and e2, and then dropped until e10. when Tim Shaw pops up again in the finale, it feels less like the return of a major antagonist and more like they just didn't have anyone else to bring in. intentionally or not, the narrative feels like it blames 13 for Tim Shaw's actions. the doctor's lack of follow-through is a fair criticism of their past actions that has been rightly levied against them before, but in this case it felt like it came from nowhere.

i only got halfway through s12 the first time. i'm hopeful that it'll feel more cohesive once i watch the entirety, and i've heard good things about s13, so i'm excited about that.

[andietries]

Look. Look, how do I start? I’m not sure if it’s because I was expecting another thing (that’s probably it) or because it truly was meant to leave that impression, but the musical was kind of a deception to me. There was a rumor that Tim Burton made the second movie because of the musical and I can totally believe it

Anyways, What kind of amateur critic on Tumblr would I be if I did not say both positive and negative things? (Just some, I don't want to bore you)

From Act 1:

Positive things:

-Love the intro number. The transition from the ballad to the whole being dead thing is great. It gives a good perspective to both characters. It engages with the audience, which is always appreciate, even tho after paying who would leave, am I right?

-I particulary liked how Betelgeuse was , like, just hanging around the Maitlands. He created a parasocial/paranormal relationship, if you catch my drift

-Say my name was a great song, had the Friend like me vibes

-The banana-oh scene is really well made. It reasembled the og material and the ensemble singing was harmonically pleasing

-The scenario changing was good, but I guess that's more related to budget

Negative things:

-Lydia's characterization is too different. I feel like her motivations for going up the roof could have been explored a bit more Maybe if we had a glimpse about how she was like before the funeral. It's not a bad character, just it's so ooc to be considered Same goes with Charles and Delia.

-The song in which the Maitlands are presented, not my thing

-Betelgeuse mommy issues, like, as a whole, also not my thing. And also, Lawrence? really

Act 2

Ok, here is when things start just to go weird, but not in a good way

Good things

-When they do the haunting house, ooc from the original, but the number was good. So thoughtful they did not scare too hard the scoutgirl, but then she would have stayed there. It would have been funny

-Miss Argentina, she slayed

-Otho, honestly, that guy. He also slayed. The two of them should have have to carry the whole act. A shame they don't interact

Negative (just a few)

-I absolutely despised the "Creepy Old Man" number. Not sure if it was because I didn't like the instrumental, the fact that they wouldn't stop repeating the same thing over and over again. Please, it's supposed to be a parody of the trope of Death and MaideN, I ALREADY KNOW

-Speaking of songs, the way they mixed Shake, shake señora with the Dead Mom theme?????? Not my thing. Also, pretty mean that they don't let the guy who carried the whole show not be in the finale number????????

-The end. It happens too fast. So ooc of Betelgeuse from both the original and the musical. Are you telling me that after surviving and domesticating the Sandworm that was the REASON you couldn't leave in first place? Make it eat Juno, saving everybody, YOU'RE LETTING YOURSELF GET DRAGGED TO LITERAL HELL WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?

Anyways, it would be really hypocrite of me if I didn't say that I quite enjoyed watching it and that I have added some of the songs to my music playlist.

So, a solid 6/10

[hood-ex]

it's me, tmnt anon!! sorry for the wait, unexpectedly busy weekend lol

i was sooooo upset when Leo's VA changed. now when i rewatch i can handle it but when i hear 2k12 Leo's voice it's 100% the og VA. space season was...something. most of it is not my fave but there's tiny lil nuggets here and there that are either actually good or i've just gaslit myself into enjoying lmao, like leo spending all that time in the holodeck talking to splinter 🥺🥺🥺 the cheese phone is iconic. 2k12 def has some grade A hurt/comfort. plus mikey has his short lil mask ends and freckles for the first time, absolutely love hehe

oh the movie is so whack. when i saw it for the first time i was CONVINCED it was a sequel. i'm so curious how it got like greenlit and survived all the way to release. ugh yeah they should've left that cut scene fr!! literally, how was he supposed to learn how to lead...alone. how? why? my questions will never be answered i fear.

i have not yet, they are on my tbr for sure!! as far as tmnt comics, i've only read the last ronin 🙈 fanTASTIC 2k3 scene, ugh love. i love mikey's dynamics with all his brothers fr, he's such a little brother i can't.

yeah smarts and crafts!!! who is doing it like them fr

i think it's the edited version?? i should know but somehow when i try to recall the music my brain is like nope, only audio you have stored here is ✨dialogue✨ that's such a cute ringtone though!

okay so like the answer is...yes? first exposure: teen titans/yj in childhood. (which having read comics now, donna and wally not being in teen titans is a tragedy, god i love donna.) i like revisited them in sept. after a tmnt rewatch and re-fell in love with dick grayson lmao, decided to try out the comics and learned that there were more robins than just dick and have not been able to stop thinking about them since. i don't know how i didn't know. jason and tim are literally in yj s2. i had seen so many "batman adopts children like crazy" memes. how was i unaware? we'll never know. how about you, did you get in through comics or show/movies? (also, i assume dick is your fave robin; somehow mine is tim. i love them all desperately, to be clear, but at some point when i wasn't paying attention my soft spot for him swallowed me whole lmao)

i hope you had a lovely weekend!!

You’re totally fine, I was super busy this weekend as well.

Same for me! I can accept his new voice actors, but in fics, I usually hear his og VA unless they specify his hurt leg/changed voice. LOL no yeah the space season had it’s moments, plus it gave us Chompy! Oof Leo being so attached to his dad and losing him like that… only for him to lose Splinter again and for real later on 😭. The freckles and short mask were so cute for Mikey! It made it 10x more effective when Mikey would use his big puppy dog eyes against Leo, and Leo would fold 😂.

Yeah!! 2007 is actually supposed to be a sequel of sorts to the live action 1990s tmnt movies! And then there was supposed to be a sequel to 2007 with Mikey joining the Foot to save his family or something. We could’ve had it all 😭.

Love that The Last Ronin is the only one you’ve read 😆. I enjoyed that comic until maybe the last 2 issues or so, they felt a bit weaker than the other issues. I know they’re doing a Last Ronin video game, would love it if they did some animated movie about it or something.

Ohh Teen Titans/YJ gotcha (and right?? how dare they leave out Donna 😭). That was basically my intro to it all as well I believe. The multiple Robin reveal is always so fun 😆. Aalskdja idk how you were unaware once watching YJ S2, but I won’t fault you for it bc there was just a lot of shit going on in that season 😆. And yeah Dick is definitely my fav, probably grew attached to him from YJ S1 though I always liked Robin best from the Teen Titans show, and that’s also Dick. And aww Tim’s your fav 💖. Dick and Tim have such a lovely brotherly bond.

Also, have you ever watched Supernatural or Merlin? Because if you love platonic/brotherly love, those two will fill your cup x10. (I mean well… there are seasons of SPN where Sam and Dean fight, and I hate those seasons the most lmao, but when they’re on the same page, they’re amazing together in the most crazy way possible.)