#jacks lair reviews

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

The Battle for Pumpkin King #5

Here are my thoughts on the last issue of the comic. After this, I'll be writing a full review looking at the series as a whole. As always, Spoilers under the 'Read More'!

The last competition for the title of Pumpkin King between Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie is designing and carving their own giant Jack-o-Lantern. It's clear that they must complete it on their own, even cleaning out their pumpkins, and will be judged by 5 Townspeople.

Edgar suggests for Oogie Boogie to break the rules (again) by using Lock, Shock, and Barrel, this time to clean out his pumpkin for him. He says if Boogie wins, he can continue using his Lair, even having it as his own. While they clean out his pumpkin, Oogie wastes time by talking to the Judges and even taunting Jack, who questions why he isn't dirty from cleaning his pumpkin.

Jack starts to have doubts about himself and wonders why he's working so hard while things come 'naturally' for Oogie. He is comforted by Sally, who tells him he workd hard because it's natural to him, too, and is giving his all.

Oogie sends some bugs and snakes Jack's way to bother him while he carves. Lock, Shock, and Barrel start throwing pumpkin guts at each other inside, which sends a flurry onto Jack's pumpkin. Thinking quickly, Jack meshes it to look like hair on the jack-o-lantern. In contrast, Oogie's pumpkin is a mess from the trio's mischief.

The judges (as we all know) choose Jack's jack-o-lantern unanimously over Oogie Boogie's, winning him the crown of Pumpkin King. Boogie is furious and stomps the winning pumpkin down, arguing with Edgar and claiming his Lair as his own. He officially ends his friendship with Jack and storms off. Elsewhere, Jack suggests using Oogie's mess for a pumpkin pie, along with the Mayor's suggestion of a party to celebrate his victory.

Edgar congratulates Jack on his winning and claims he will retire to the pumpkin patch since Oogie is now in his Lair. He lays with the pumpkins lamenting Oogie's loss and their wasted potential as a team, but now he can finally rest.

Oogie, now in Edgar's Lair, claims everyone is against him, and vows no one will ever cheat him again.

---

This comic was a LOT of fun to read and buy, much like Mirror Moon was. But I think I enjoyed this one more, despite TBFPK not having as extreme concepts. I will go into more detail in my full Review - keep an eye out for it! ;)

#5 was a great wrap to everything, showing us how Oogie ended his ties with Jack and what happened to Edgar in the end. Crazy to think the previous Pumpkin King might be one of the many pumpkins in the patch now, if he's not already long gone by this point.

It's interesting how Oogie was easily manipulated by Edgar, cheated in the competitions, yet feels betrayed and cheated HIMSELF after he loses. He gave up his friendship with Jack over a potential team-up with Edgar, only to lose THAT in the end(except gain his Lair). I can see why he would take control over the trio down the line, seeing as they indirectly caused his loss for the crown. I bet he forever holds that to them....

Also, very sweet little moments between Jack and Sally. I wonder how their friendship grew in this way. And I'm happy to see how Jack won his crown, it's fortunate it hadn't been Oogie(unless, without Edgar's influence, he would have wanted to rule Halloween Town...better? And possibly had a greater chance in the Competition without his help?)

I have a lot more to say about this series, so I'll start on the overall review soon. If you can, consider buying the Issues, or the Graphic Novel that comes out next month!!!

[popculturebuffet]

TMNT Month Finale: The Christmas Aliens (TMNT 2003) (Comisson for WeirdKev27)

Merry Christmas all you happy turtles! Christmas time is here again, so it's time for hog chocolate, nog, and christmas specials and we're beginning the Christmas season and ending TMNT month with a damn fine one.

I'm happy to end this look at TMNT on my faviorite of the 5 cartoons so far. I love the others: 87 has goofy charm and tons of creativity, 2012 does the second best job in the franchise of crunching down years of diffrent continuities into one and updating a lot of 87's ideas, Rise is a feast for the eyes and has plenty of belly laughs and weirdness and what i've seen of Tales matches the film best it can while expanding on it, letting the brothers breath as indivduals.

2003 however just has that magic to me. Part of it was nostalgia: while I grew up with leftover 87 turtle toys, 2003 was MY turtles, with 12 year old me consumed by it's style, the best voice actors for all 4 turtles, and it's gripping story. At a time when not a ton of cartoons were seralized TMNT 2003 embraced longterm storytelling, with Season 1 largely following one storyline with the next and most having consequences, with a sprinkling of fun one offs sometimes adapting single issues of the comic sometimes doing their own thing. It's one long epic saga I definitely need to revisit more often both on this blog and just for funsies.

It also is a stellar adaptation, taking a good chunk of the Mirage Comics that TMNT came from and faithfully bringing them to screen while still giving them depth and clarity the original comics sometimes lacked. That includes today's episode, an episode i'm shocked i'd never saw and thank Kev for suggesting when I needed a smaller review to finish out the month and for sponsoring.

The Christmas Aliens adapts the Michealangelo Micro Series. Micro Series were a bunch of one shots, the label a fun jab at how many mini series marvel put out in the 80s and 90s. The Microseries issues are important though as they helped flesh out each turtle on their own, and with the exception of Donetellos where he teams up with Jack Kirby to fight aliens

Each one had some impact on the universe as a whole: Raph's introduced Casey, Leo's lead into the Foot Clan's return, and Mikey's introduces his cat Klunk. It's a tradition the IDW comics picked up and ran with, having one shots not only for the turtles (as always plot relevant) but also April, Casey, Splinter, and the Fugatoid, with a second 8 issues focusing on their foes: Krang, Shredder, Baxter Stockman, Aloplex , Hun, Old Hob, and of course sharing an issue for their debut, Bebop and Rocksteady. It's something I love as it gives character spotlights easily, the micro series name is fun and it's something I wish IDW had done more with or would bring back, as it spread to Transformers and MLP and could easily be used with TMNT again or any other properties they pick up.

All four mirage micro series issues were adapted for the series: Raph's was adapted as "Meet Casey Jones", Donnie's as "The King" Leo's as "The Shredder Strikes Back Part 1", and Mikey's with this episode. In fact Christmas Aliens is weirdly the only one not adapted in season 1, being adapted in season 3 instead. I do get the wait as Mikey getting Klunk meant their being driven from the lair in season 1 would of been harder to do knowing a sweet innocent kitten would be left behind at best, though I still tilt my head at why it took till season 3 when there seemed to be room in season 2 for a fun runoff. Regardless it's a fun adaptation i'm glad to have finally seen that captures mikey as a character and the christmas spirit all in a tight 22 minutes. And you can join me in unwrapping this christmas present under the cut.

We open with our usual cold open, with Mikey in a car chase putting the hammer down and giving some random goons hell. I would've preferred if they started slightly earlier in the plot, not giving away that Mikey has to end up driving the truck but it dosen't harm the story either.

One kickass theme song and Mikey is enjoying Christmas Eve drinking in the warm glow. It's adorable as hell, and ripped directly from the comic. In fact his whole subplot is pretty much a panel for panel remake of the comic with some very slight changes to fit with the series better or just because i'll point out as we go.

It's infectious to see Mikey so excited, enjoying the snow even if he has to wear an itchy scarf to blend in, and how happy everyone is. It's a part of Mikey I wish got emphasized more in adaptations, with even this one slipping on it from time to time: his heart. Mikey may be the goofiest and usually the one to keep the surfer dude accent as a not to his 87 self, but he's also the kindest of the group, the one trying to reform enemies and who takes the violence and losses the hardest. He's an empathetic kind young man who just wants to help. It's why the IDW version is my favorite as while still quick with wisecracks and youthful energy, he has an innocence and tiredness from the fight I love.

2003's a close second though. Wayne Grayson has my faviorite voice out of the Mikey's so far, a nice mix of sarcastic fuckboy younger brother and kind weirdo. This episode is a perfect showcase as it gives him some more range, just being happy and innocent as he enjoys a winters day, borrowing a sled from Ash Catchem to do some sick tricks and just being a big old kid. It's also a nice moment of peace in the turtles chaotic lives.

Along his shenanigans Mikey finds a tiny kitten, cold and in the snow and picks him up, adopting the little guy on the spot. It's something I'm glad does seem to be a consistent thing for mikey, adopting a pet cat, adopting Klunk in this cartoon, the mirage comics and the IDW comics and adopting ice cream kitty in the 2012 cartoon

Clap, clap for the best 2012 TMNT Chracter CLAP!

So as Mikey gets a forever friend, the turtles spend the b plot getting ready for christmas, which is an addition to the cartoon and a truly great one. The bits back at the lair are just the turtles enjoying each others company and basking in the season: Donny bakes cookies, April brings a tree with a grumpy casey's help.. for which he gets the door shut on him.

There's also a nice variety of guests from other episodes: We have Angel, casey's little sister figure from the episode of the same name, the Professor, a kind homeless man who trades the turtles various things for clothing and who they helped save from the Junkman, two other homeless persons from the same camp, and the Silver Sentry, a superman style hero who Michealangelo idolizes and worked with during his career as the turtle titan. We also get one big non sequenter of a guest apperance as the Grand Daimyo, head of the battle nexus arrives. The Battle Nexus is a once every few years tournament and the site of the best arc of the series, the Big Brawl. it also allowed the turtles to meet our two final guests: Miamoto Usagi and Gen.

Usagi is the star of Usagi Yojimbo, a long running indie comic. Creator Stan Sakai met Eastman and Laird as the furry books tended to get put at the same tables and became fast friends. As a result Usagi has had guest appearances in the Mirage comics, IDW COmics, and the first three cartoons, with 2003 having easily the most. He and Leo exchange swords

And in general it's a charming subplot. We get fun antics like Casey trying to get a smooch with mistletoe with the help of Raph and Angel, and Raph and Casey arm wrestling the Sentry, who takes a dive so april can win as a joke, and gets cookies as a reward. It's fun seeing Sentry here as he's so delightfully awkward. He and the homeless folks are blindfolded with Sentry noting he can see through it but going along with it for Splitners sake, and delighting in the cookies. It's great holiday fun and a nice use of the supporting cast, as well as a kind reminder of how many friends the turtles have picked up.

The rest of the plot is all Mikey as he goes through one hell of a Christmas Eve. He doesn't have to free Nakatomi Plaza but he might've wished it. He goes to the toy store. In the original story it was to shop , here it's to gaze adoringly, something Leo correctly guesses. I love this Christmas Story style window gazing and it just adds to it and removing the present thing isn't a bad factor as we really only need one Ninja Turtle stories where their shoping at the last minute. He presumibly sung some opera on his way there.

However his winter fest ivies are interrupted when he hears some noises and finds some goons hijacking a truck of little orphan alien dolls. The goons are the same ones as the pilot minus the blue haired guy what got murdered who also what got a spotlight in the dreamwave comics.

Mikey follows after they knock out the store owner and tucking Klunk in his coat, proceeds to fucking ski after them, grabbing a loose extension cord hanging out of the truck. It's not only a nice case of chekovs gun for the sledding earlier, showing he can winter sport well, but it's also a really fun action set piece, with mikey easily dodging and only stopping when the guy at the wheel smartly brings him forward so the others can shoot.

Mikey is a ninja turtle though, so he simply dodges, dips inside the back of the parked car and ambushes the two assholes before jumping into the back to do a beverley hills cop. He dose'nt spend long burning doing the neutron dance though as he heads up front and saves the car. Unfortunately the thug called for backup and in a change from the story Mikey has to out drive a speedster.

I love how he gets out of this too: when the car tries to ram him, he decides "what would raph do" and picks up speed, the car darting out of the way and getting taken by the cops. Unfortuantely said cops, who mikey called for, think Mikey's a robber and he has to avoid them for a few minutes.

Having successfully evaded the police Mikey returns to his family who are all pissed.. mostly Raph. Which isn't a high achievement but given he nearly killed mikey for less earlier in the series, best not to test him. Mikey gives a speech and then says how they can all help out. We cut hopefully after dinner to the orphanage where all the turtles are dressed up as elves, along with Usagi, and splinter as santa, a touch I could not love more. The guy from the toy store is also there so presumably the cops still aren't looking for mikey. Ther'es only room for one turtle in jail and it's steve. Steve knows what he did. Fucking steve.

So we end heartwarmingly as the turtles pass out presents, an orphan gets to pet a cat and Casey gets a kiss because why not it's Christmas. A wonderful end to a wonderful episode.

The Christmas Aliens is one of the best episodes of TMNT 2003 i've seen, a delightful Christmas episode oozing with Charm. Focusing on Mikey was a brilliant choice in the comics and a fun christmas subplot for everyone else was a great way to get the story to episode length without padding it out. It allows the original story to be adapted as is with only one additional action set piece and klunk becoming a ginger (He was grey in the color verison of the black and white comic), but still be a satisfying episode and it's fun to see the best family in fiction just have a nice moment of piece. I'm shocked there hasn't been that many other turtles christmas adventures; Two in the IDW comics, both versions of christmas aliens and we wish you a turtles christmas are it and we frankly could use more. Perhaps we could get a mutant mayhem special. Until then though we've got possibly the best you could get out of the premise to keep us warm and I intend to revisit this one each winter. Thanks for reading, i'm pullin for you, we're all in this together.

[foreverneverafter]

Warning: major acftl spoilers

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH???!!

I love you so much, Stephanie. Thank you so, so, so, so much.

We have our end. And it's beautiful

We get our chapter from jack's pov. The first one from his pov was just a gem. He's obsessed with her. He admits it

And he tells her he loves her?!!!

OMFG!

I couldn't have asked for anything more. My review? A MILLION stars. The writing wasn't as good. The "evil lair" made me choke and cringe and laugh all at the same time. But all the faults in this book disappear in the face of the evajacks happily ever after we deserved.

HERE'S TO EVAJACKS!

[kamenstranger]

Kamen Rider Black Manga Review

The Kamen Rider Black manga stands in an interesting place compared to the television series. Beyond the base concept of Golgom as an underground cult and Kotaro being adopted by the Akizuki family, everything else is vastly different.

The series takes far more from the preliminary concepts for Black, being a globetrotting adventure with the adversaries being the typical cyborg/genetically altered humans, albeit far more horror and mysticism minded than what the average Showa series would've portrayed. I'm going to spoil the hell of this series for this review, so be prepared.

Part 1: New York Sewers. Our story starts in the New York sewers, a naked and confused Kotaro having little memory of what's happened to him, stumbling aimlessly until set upon by a large black figure. At the same time, a three person crew from a TV production "Strange World" which explores the unknown; UFOs, cryptids, urban legends, etc. is filming within the sewers. This crew consists of the host Heather, cameraman Jack, and… Sam. It's not actually clear what his role is. He calls himself a host, but that's clearly Heather's job.

The three soon cross paths with the large black figure carrying an unconscious Kotaro, followed by the large man transforming into a crocodile and attacking the crew, killing Jack. (Yes it's a croc, not an gator) Which by the way, I cannot show the pre-transformed croc man cause, well, he's black and some of the panels share a bit too much with Cyborg 008's OG appearance if you get my meaning.

Kotaro is dragged into the water by a plain ol' croc, but soon emerges in his rider form, attacking the crocodile man and allowing Sam and Heather to escape in the confusion. The fight is short, however, Kotaro escaping in the darkness, only to wind up elsewhere back in his human form. Sam and Heather run across him, confused as to his unharmed nature but offering help (And some extra clothes) And it's here where the narrative starts to take shape, Kotaro begins remembering bits and pieces. His name and nationality, part of the operation done on him, his escape and recapture. It's pretty dialogue heavy, but it doesn't feel over stuffed.

Kotaro is still struggling to remember the wider picture and key details, but he recalls enough to retrace the sewer back to the operating room, hoping to find more answers, much to Sam's annoyance, who only wants to leave. The trio come upon the Giger-esque lair, only to once again be confronted by the crocodile man, this time Kotaro transforming directly in front of Sam and Heather as a self destruct countdown begins. Whatever secrets are held there will remain.

This is a great fight to be so early in the series and a damn good illustration, quite literally, of how well Ishinomori depicts motion and increasing tension. Sam and Heather bolt, barely escaping the blast as they're flung. Meanwhile Kotaro emerges in human form, once again unscathed and also naked. At least he knows where the exit is.

In a slightly morbid gag, Kotaro gets Jack's job as Cameraman since they need a new one. There's clearly a big story with Kotaro, which Sam is invested in uncovering given the nature of their show, so we have a good excuse for the trio to work together in a convenient manner.

This is a pretty damn good first chapter by in large. It is dialog heavy as mentioned earlier, but I never minded that. Even at 84 pages it never felt overwhelming. The chapter is dense yet brisk, but it never felt rushed. It's not perfect, mind you. There is the handling of the croc man which feels unintended but unfortunate, and also two very weird… jokes(?) one being Sam poking fun of Heather only being scared of AIDS, and Heather later asking Kotaro if that croc man was homosexual. Oh boy, does that feel dated at best.

That aside, the foundation is laid out well, our characters are established, there's still plenty of mystery to uncover and we got some solid action.

Part 2: Paris - Phantom of the Opera.

Sorta says it all in the title, doesn't it? This is a fairly straightforward plot, the trio travel to France to investigate a haunting at an Opera House, having an in with a caretaker in need of some cash. He knows the maze like labyrinth of the opera house's lower areas and is able to bypass security.

I'll cut to the chase and say that the atmosphere is very good here. Lots of shadows, the mysterious "Ghost" is unsurprisingly more tangible and looks like Lon Chaney Sr. Said ghost haunting the opera is actually the caretaker's son, Alan, who presumably died 10 years ago and holds a grudge against his father who never wanted him to act.

Alan kidnaps Heather ala Erik and Christine, Kotaro gives chase to the underground lair, gets sidetracked looking for Heather, Alan turns into a bat and dissolves his father, and we get so much exposition from Alan to Sam. Lots and lots of exposition. I would normally dislike this level of diatribe, but given Alan is a failed actor, I can kinda see him being a gloating ham all too eager to go full camp with the villain routine. He even mentions to Sam, who's recording, that he wants to see the footage after he kills him. That's great.

The information is what you'd expect. Name drops Golgom as the organization, their basic goals, the DNA/RNA manipulation. etc. etc. There's mention that one of their big goals in France is using their genetic technology to create near perfect replicas of famous artworks, switching them out, and selling them to fund their operations. Which… okay, sure? But if you have cloning capabilities so good you can fool curators, why even bother having to traverse Paris' underground tunnels to break into the museums and switch the pieces out? Just sell the copies as originals. Or maybe just clone currency?

That nonsense aside, Kotaro emerges from the darkness with Heather, just in time to save Sam. Alan floods the underground tunnels and flees.

Part 3: Paris-London the Devil's Wing.

Following up on the whole DNA manipulation, the trio are on a plane headed to London to meet with Professor Bronn, a leader in genetic engineering, but are soon attacked by Alan in Bat monster form, ripping at the wing. Ever see the Twilight Zone?

Most of this chapter is just a fight sequence, so I won't spend too much time on this, but it's a good one. Kotaro and Alan fight on one of the wings during a storm, Alan gets stabbed with a lightning rod and struck, and finally he's thrown behind the turbine and set ablaze. I don't think it works like that, but it's fun all the same.

Part 4: London - Jack the Ripper.

Shit gets weird in this chapter. Bronn is your typical ass hat scientist more interested in work and results; mistreating his assistant, questionable methods, wants to rule the world etc. In-between all this is a mysterious trench-coat wearing rider who keeps cropping up looking for the professor.

Bronn has discovered Kotaro's cells appear human, but react to cold and heat, changing. However, Kotaro is unable to transform at will and is the main hang-up on the research. Given that all previous instances involved Kotaro in danger, Bronn decides to keep ramping things up with his bodyguard and attack dogs, which have little affect in incurring a transformation. Eventually he leads them to his secret underground lab. Things get very Pretorius as it's discovered the lab is filled with genetic oddities; miniature pigs and horses, massive rabbits and rats, overgrown fruits, vegetables and a large ape man. Bronn shoots both Sam and Heather, unleashing the bigfoot upon Kotaro. However, Kotaro only transforms half way, green rather than his full Black appearance. Tussling with the ape man causes the otherwise mute assistant to run over, begging Kotaro not to attack because the ape is actually still just a child and quite gentle.

Then her stomach bursts open with a monster baby, killing her. Kotaro goes full Black, but by then the professors head has already been removed by the mysterious rider; the mantis man, Golgom's Jack the Ripper. Kotaro tangles with Mantis before… just throwing a bunch of giant fruits crushing the bug and starting an electrical fire. Kotaro escapes with Sam and Heather, who were simply tranquilized.

I know it sounds like I sped through that, but the entire thing really is that breakneck. It does not slow down and frankly it's more to the detriment. There's some fantastic bits in here, but we hardly have time to absorb anything, just bam, bam, bam, onto the next scene. The only major breakthrough is Kotaro recalling enough of his memories to lead back to Japan.

Thankfully the next chapter is better paced with some proper drama.

Part 5: Kyoto - The Mysterious Ichoji Temple

Piecing together what memories Kotaro has recovered, they track down his former home, that of the medical industrialist Soichiro Akizuki, in the far northern region of Kyoto, Rakuhoku.

Kotaro's appearance at the residence does not go well. The maid, "Aunt" Aki, is scared half to death and the young lady of the house, Koyoko is just as taken aback given that there was supposed to be corpses found in New York. None the less, he is here. Taking a short tour of the house, Kotaro recalls some more memories, such as that of his childhood with Nobuhiko and Kyoko.

Not long after, Soichiro Akizuki arrives in a foul mood, adamant and outraged at the idea Kotaro could be alive, insisting this is an imposter. After all, he identified the bodies himself, saw the death certificate. But it doesn't add up. For one thing, Sam and Heather couldn't find any reports about the bodies and Kotaro was able to get a passport from the Embassy. Akizuki simply doesn't have an explanation for that, something is up. But all the same, Kotaro can't even recall the names of his biological parents, his memory is too fragmented to fully confirm who he is and is kicked out to the snowy fields.

Kotaro does eventually remember his parents names and their tragic fate, for what good it does now. Before they can ruminate anymore, Kyoko comes running, fully confident that Kotaro is who he appears. She promises to meet back up tomorrow to help.

But Kouko wasn't the only one present. After her departure, a Spider monster appears, threatening Kotaro to return to Golgom, saying that Nobuhiko will die if he doesn't. Kotaro maybe be of great importance, but will be killed if he continues his rebellion.

The next day, hoping to jog Kotaro's memory, Kyoko takes the trio to meet with Nobuhiko's girlfriend, Kida Ayumi (if that sounds weird it's because her name was Kasumi is the TV series FYI. The fan translation messes that up in this vol. however) The meeting does the trick, Kotaro recalling Ayumi's presence at the Airport when he and Nobuhiko were traveling to New York. He also remembers staying with an acquaintance of their father, before waking up during the operation, seeing Nobuhiko become the same as him.

These revelations come to a standstill when Kotaro realizes they're not alone, urging Sam to get everyone out as he confronts the Spiderman once more.

This fight features one of my favorite and sorely underused Rider abilities: Crusher Jaws. Kotaro gets webbed and bound by the spider but jumps up and nosedives, taking a big chomp and ripping an arm off, causing the Spider to retreat. Kotaro now has evidence to confront Akizuki. He plays coy at first, at least until the arm is thrown down. He insists he didn't betray Kotaro and Nobuhiko… but that they were chosen by Golgom as tribute, becoming the son of Golgom. Akizuki views it as for the good of humanity and his business, and to protect Kotaro and Nobuhiko from ending up like Kotaro's parents.

Before anymore can be learned, Akizuki is suddenly shot in the head, his coat falling off and revealing his left arm is missing.

Part 6: Hubei - The Legend of the White Serpent.

We find the trio in China, shooting an episode for what is ostensibly a Bigfoot episode or "Wildlings" in the mountains. Kotaro is here after feeling guilt over Akizuki's death and not wanting to burden or endanger Kyoko with his presence.

Additionally, the crew is aided by a local, Ms. Wu Xiao Qin, who hits it off with Kotaro, both having lost their parents at a young age.

But as things being to blossom, Ms. Wu's drunken philosophical grandfather, Hui Xian, attacks Kotaro, knowing something lurks within him. He takes Kotaro down surprisingly easy. Once the situation is explained, Kotaro asks the wise elder for help controlling his transformation. Keep in mind, it is completely involuntary and it's not clear how much control Kotaro asserts. There is some influence, he was able to bite off the Spiderman's arm after all, but he did leave Sam all alone with Bat monster for quite some time simply to look for Heather. So training is probably a good idea. Not to mention that Hui is quite capable. Able to walk on water, launch from tree top to tree top without disturbing the snow.

Creative liberty I'm sure, but this is still cute given this was done by Midnight Crew.

What I find most compelling is the elder's advice to simply embrace the monster. That's a pretty bog standard solution, but one poignant for what Rider is. Knowing that you're human… but different from other humans. Additionally there's this angle of controlling the raw power of the Kaijin form, that the humanity within yourself can overcome the base instinct nature of the transformation. Because at the end of it all, both are still you. It's an interesting outlook that get flipped on it's head because, well, Hui and Ms. Wu turn out to be Golgom members.

To further complicate matters, Wu is developing feelings for Kotaro, and if you know your folktales, you probably guessed where this is headed.

Sure enough things come to a head when Hui Xian captures Sam and Heather, threatening Kotaro to embrace Golgom, or both he and his friends will die. Still, Kotaro chooses to fight, an entire village of monsters descending upon him. Wu transforms into her kaijin form, a white snake, to defend Kotaro. She's set ablaze by her own grandfather for her trouble.

Kotaro's "third eye" glows brighter before he awakens to Sam and Heather, both rescued by Ms. Wu. Around them are the chard bodies of monsters. It's unclear exactly what occurred, but Sam says Wu figures it was the stone inside Kotaro. As for Wu herself, she was severely burned and left, not wanting Kotaro to see her.

Part 7: The Feral streets of Tokyo.

Kotaro returns to Japan, turning to an old friend and mechanic, Daimon. Daimon is a bit of a guiding figure in the area, renting out bikes to delinquents and offering help and a place to stay for the many runaways that come his way. Kotaro might not be one, but his situation isn't too far off and Daimon is more than happy to help.

He also has a gift for Kotaro and… this gets weird because we're getting into the explanation of the manga's version of Battle Hopper and, well…

Yeah, the explanation is that Rider '71 exists as a show in this world and Daimon was such a nerd he built an actual super bike with a grasshopper motif. This is also why Kotaro adopts the Kamen Rider Black name. I'd say that's bordering on distracting, but that's kinda par for the course in Ishinomori's work. So yeah, if you thought Ishinomori popping up in the Zenkaiger movie was weird, just know he was doing weird meta stuff all the time for a quick gag. Ramifications be damned. FYI Battlehopper will not play any importance. Kotaro rides it around a few times but that's it.

We also have two side stories developing in this chapter. One is Ayumi meeting back up with Kotaro and acting strangely while confirming she's learned Nobuhiko is alive. All the while, people keep getting attacked at night. Meanwhile, the other concerns the ruthless endeavors of a real estate development firm harassing tenets that refuse to leave. Compounding things is Momo, the daughter of the head of the firm, who happens to be dating a boy, Kenji, whose family is being targeted. Things begin to boil over when three goons track down Momo and Kenji at Daimon's, recognizing the boy whose nose they punched in the night prior. Thankfully, Kotaro is on hand and easily beats the hell out of all three men, sending them running.

Ayumi sees this incident and follows the men back to their office. Wearing the same Motorcycle outfit as Kotaro, she slaughters the entire office, making sure there are witnesses, framing Kotaro. Ironically, Kotaro has a meeting with Ayumi that night, learning of the incident on the TV. He has to escape.

However, having suspicions about Ayumi, he instead tracks her down after she leaves her hotel, confronting her just as she's about to attack Momo and Kenji, discovering she's a feline monster. Cornered, Ayumi admits she was experimented on by Golgom as a means to get to Kotaro, but it was a botched operation. Ayumi is defective, having an insatiable bloodlust. She begs Kotaro to kill her.

In the end, Kotaro does just that. The police finding Ayumi's body still wearing the motorcycle outfit.

Part 8: Okinawa - Legend of the Great Lion.

I'm going to level with you. This chapter is superfluous. The basic plot is Kotato, for reasons unknown to him, is investigating in Okinawa. Additionally, a Police detective from the previous chapter, Toro, is tailing Kotaro because he still has his suspicions about him. Kotaro's investigation eventually leads him to learn that a high ranking military commander and Golgom member has gone rogue and is going to nuke Tokyo. That's the jist. For what it's worth the art is incredible this chapter and Kotaro getting the deactivation codes by telling the commander that his name will be erased from Golgom's history for his betrayal is somewhat clever. But honestly a lot of it feels disconnected from the rest of the book and a last minute scene explaining that Ayumi was the one that "Made a hypnotic suggestion/warning about the commander" before her death feels forced. I can get down with Ishinomori wanting to shit talk the military industrial complex, but this is jank.

Also I'm going to go head an tell you that Toro as a character goes nowhere. He appears in a couple more chapters before he just stops showing up.

Part 9: Athens- The Maze of the Gods.

Oh boy. So uh… I don't think this chapter has much going on either. It starts off very good. A bus is struck by lightning and it disappears, a child sheep herder is the sole witness and rumors circulate of beasts appearing during storms. This gets the attention of Sam and Heather, who witness the bolts of lightning and are attacked by a Minotaur, which causes them to obviously phone Kotaro and get his ass on the case since it's probably Golgom.

Kotaro arrives, this time a Centaur appears and Kotaro rushes at him, both disappearing in a flash. A second flash covers Sam and Heather, teleporting them to the temple of Partheon with a pristine statue of Athena, which seems to indicate they not only teleported in distance, but time. They're also in lair of the Minotaur. They hide until the Centaur comes along, catching the attention of the Minotaur as the two duke it out, teleporting in an out.

Eventually they meet back up with Kotaro, who has found the missing Bus with the people on board. Kotaro explains that the Centaur and the Minotaur were rival scientists both working on teleportation technology, arguing over what was the best way to go about the tech. There's also a side bit from Sam about the Philadelphia experiment. If you're wondering how Kotaro knows all this, he simply told the Centaur he was sent by Golgom to check on the project. Glad we got 3 pages of exposition for that gag.

Anyway, Minotaur and Centaur teleport back, Centaur is dead, Kotaro and Minotaur fight, Athena statue is ancient technological robot that turns the Minotaur into stone, Kotaro and the bus teleport back, lab explodes, Kotaro remarks it's a good thing Golgom hasn't teleported that ancient tech to the future.

Part 10: Korakuen - Horrors of the Big egg.

Oh boy we're on roll with these, huh? I don't think this is as tedious as the previous one, the exposition of this chapter feel much more warranted and is handled better. But aside from the opening, which establishes Kotaro can now sense the life force of living things and exploit it to either knock out or outright kill certain beings, not a lot happens. Kotaro gets a threatening cassette tape from Golgom warning him that the Korakuen Tokyo Big Egg (AKA Tokyo Dome) will be destroyed.

This is really a "Of the time" kinda deal because the Tokyo Dome was still very new when Black was published, opening March 17 '88. To put that in perspective, episode 24 of the TV series would've aired just a few days after the opening.

Anyway, Kotaro entrusts Detective Toro to investigate the tape while Kotaro scopes out the dome for himself. But ultimately what it comes down to is Pterodactyl monster appears, Kotaro crushes their life force, threat to the dome over. That's it.

Part 11: Hygo - Treasures of the Dead part 1

This is a meatier chapter although the plot is pretty straightforward. Over the course of several days, Kyoko is harassed by an unknown source. She awakens to a human skull perched upon her nightstand, a crate of snakes is delivered to her house, the corpse of a skinned rabbit is found dangling in her home.

A mysterious oldman, Tsukahara Gouzu, arrives with his son, Tsuyoshi, and meets with Kyoko. He claims to be the illegitimate son of Kyoko's grandfather, he even has proof. He intends to handle the family finances while also taking Kyoko way to a remote village. Very strange all around.

And if you can believe it, Kotaro has to be talked into intervening by Aunt Taki. Which, look, I get Kotaro is guilt ridden over leaving Nobuhiko behind and blames himself for his adoptive dad killed directly in front of Kyoko. He wants to distance himself from the family. But Ayumi was kidnapped and turned into a cat monster not too long along by Golgom, for all he know the same fate could await Kyoko. Well Kotaro steps in but arrives just a bit too late, Koyoko's been taken away by force to the village of Donouzan in Hell Valley.

It's a fitting area, as that night, Kyoko awakens to see a platoon of undead Samurai marching across the fields. Gouzu stops her screams and informs her that this is a nightly occurrence. He believes them to be the remains of the Toyotomi house, which 400 years ago lost to Tokugawa Ieyasu. It's believed the Toyotomi clan hid a great deal of gold in the valley, and that is why the corpses rise each night, hoping to uncover the lost treasure meant to rebuild their clan.

This here is the charm of the chapter. It's kind of just a fun ghost story that feels like Ishinomori's period works with some of Tezuka's short horror stories.

But of course, there's more to it than that. When Kotaro arrives he finds most the village abandoned, the sole living being he sees is a mute ninja, who at the very least points him in the direction of Gouzu's house. Curiously, Gouzu is unaware of anyone else in the area. Kotaro's meeting with Gouzu is as trifle as you'd expect, although he is willing to talk and explain the situation to Kotaro, even showing him proof of the undead. Seeing as Kyoko is still in a state of shock she wouldn't be going anywhere for a while anyway, Kotaro humors him. Sure enough, the dead rise from their graves that night, Kotaro sensing no life force. They are dead. All the while, they're watched by the ninja.

Later, Kyoko awakes and is alleviated at the sight of Kotaro, who is still insistent on raking her back. Gouzu, on the other hand, has plans. He is in-fact Akizuki's half brother, that part is true. But he's after Akizuki's money and the only way he could get the inheritance is if Kyoko was mentally unfit or dead. And he needs this to fund getting an even bigger fortune in the hidden gold, which is happens to have a map to… which is promptly stolen by the Ninja. Oops.

Taking the opportunity, Kotaro and Kyoko bolt for it, escaping into the dark forest, only to be set upon by the undead. In the chaos, the two cross paths with Tsuyoshi, who is willing to help given the circumstances (And having a fondness for Kyoko) As the two hold off the undead, the ninja from earlier kills Gouzu, the oldman's head rolling into view of the three. Seeing who the true enemy is, Kotaro entrusts Tsuyoshi with Kyoko's safety as he confronts the silent warrior, who promptly transforms into the Flying squirrel monster. No clue if he destroyed the dreams of children concerning flying squirrels, but he does start talking at this point.

In what it quite possibly one of the most bizarre plots of Golgom, it's revealed during their fight that this entire thing with the zombies is to look for the gold to fund their operations. They're not even ancient, their armor was painstakingly made to look accurate. I don't have time to unpack all that nonsense.

Still, the fight is excellent. The Squirrel fights like a shinobi, moving blazingly fast and whipping up a whirlwind with nasty tricks, like spraying Kotaro with Bug spray. Gotta admit, that's not a terrible idea. Squirrel overplays his hand when he tries to wrap around Kotaro and suffocate him, Kotaro simply rips apart the flying rodent, ending control of the zombies in the process.

Hurrying back, he finds Kyoko safe and sound. Tsuyoshi on the other hand collapses, a katana sticking out his back. After burying the poor man, Kyoko grabs hold of Kotaro, begging that he never leave again.

Part 12: Kyoto - Lonely Home

Part 12 is a short chapter, mostly a brief and much needed respite after that flying squirrel business.

The vast majority is simply domestic character stuff between Kyouko and Kotaro. And uh, it becomes clear Kyouko kinda has a thing for him. Which, look, I kinda get it. Her dad's dead, her brother is missing, Kotaro is the only person she has a close connection to and they're not at all related. I can see how Kyouko, particularly under stress, could look at Kotaro as more of her brother's childhood friend rather than a brother like figure in his own right.

But it is still a little bit weird knowing they grew up together ostensibly as siblings and in the Tokyo chapter she called him "brother Kotaro." Although she starts to drop that and only uses that moniker when talking about Nobuhiko.

Regardless, the chapter is otherwise pleasant while also setting up future events, with Kotaro having nightmares of Nobuhiko.

Part 13 Australia -Land of Tomorrow (Prologue)

For three consecutive nights Kotaro has the same nightmare; a massive black bird attacking in a violent storm. On the fourth night, something different happens. He finds himself teleported in front of an Aboriginal, Goom, and white woman, Fitch. The two are contacting Kotaro across time, 30 years in the future where the world in in turmoil and ruled over by the Demon King, a black metallic mutant grasshopper that looks suspiciously like Kotaro's form.

Legend passed down spoke of another like the Demon King that could rival his power, Goom and Fitch believe Kotaro to be that person. As time goes on, it becomes clear that this is more than a simple dream. Kotaro has been plucked out of time for this meeting, a unique ability that sadly Goom and Fitch are not capable of themselves. They warn Kotaro of a giant black bird which will doom the earth, hoping that Kotaro can change the fate and outcome in the past, his present, an advert this apocalypse brought forth by the demon king.

When Kotaro awakes, he has a necklace of the Southern Cross, confirming it was no mere dream.

Part 14: Kyoto - Nobuhiko Returns.

Well, the title says it all, doesn't it? And yeah, that's what happens almost first thing. Nobuhiko walks right the hell up to the Akizuki household, along with a friend, Cleopatra Jones (Yes, really) Nobuhiko seems fine, it's not even clear if he's been modified. He explains how he escaped during a fire and wandered the streets until being taken in by Jones.

That night, Jones mutants into a Cicada, attacks Kotaro, starts to molt and erm. Uses boob suction cup to drain Kotaro's brain. What the fuck?

Anyway… Kotaro breaks free and kills her, she turns into a white woman. I guess because of the molting which turns Cicadas a much lighter color and… moving on.

No, seriously, that's the end of the chapter.

Part 15: Tokyo - Stag Beetle Summer

Kotaro meets back up with Daimon, the two catch up, Kotaro informing him that Nobuhiko is taking over his father's business and expanding into a Tokyo branch (Which given Golgom has it's hands all over it, that seems like a stupid ass idea) We also get a little bit of Ishinomori's environmental themes with how few Stag Beetles seem to be around nowadays. There's also some of that love for the counter culture and delinquents in here, as it often the case whenever Daimon shows up.

Speaking of, Kotaro returns with Daimon to his shop to gather his things since he'll be moving into the Akizuki household. But they're interrupted when Daimon gets a call from a regular, a kid named Katsuaki. He's been a "problem child" in the past, but this time he's committed murder, and it was his parents. Sure enough, when Kotaro and Daimon arrive, they find the bodies. Kotaro is attacked by a stag beetle monster, although it hardly puts up a fight before having its arm ripped off, keeling over and turning back into Katsuaki.

And, I want to like this so much more, especially as Daimon gets really angry and wants Kotaro to eradicate Golgom for what they've done. But that's all there is to this chapter.

Part 16: Kyoto- Jaws in the Pool.

Kotaro and Nobuhiko talk about the struggles of taking done something as big as Golgom, especially with Kotaro facing them alone. A couple of multi shape-shifting sea based monsters attack Kyoko in the pool, which Kotaro and Nobuhiko save her from. It becomes clear that Nobuhiko is inhumanly strong, indicating he's had something done.

Look there is some good art in this chapter, but guess what? That's basically the end of it. Kotaro decides to leave Kyoko in Nobuhiko's hands while he heads to Australia.

Part 17 Australia - The Land of Tomorrow

I'll be honest, I didn't want to gloss over this cause 17 is a pretty damn chunky chapter compared the last few, but in reality not a whole lot of key moments occur.

Kotaro meets with not Cyborg 007, he travels around Australia, goes to Ayers rock, has a tussle with a Chameleon monster which is Corki, and has a vision. But ultimately Kotaro doesn't find any hint of Golgom's base.

To be fair to this chapter there are a few things I really like. There's a nice character moment early on where when Kotaro is attacked in his hotel by an aboriginal platypus monster but Kotaro can't bring himsef to kill him. He remarks to himself that they're victims too and feels sorry for them. Which there's actually quite a focus on the Aboriginals in this chapter and it's wild seeing this late 80s manga talking about some serious shit regarding native land being stolen. Mind you, it's not too out of Ishinomori's wheel house, Jo in 009 is mixed and was bullied for it, becoming a delinquent, and Robot Detective is pretty heavy on the subtext of racism to the point of just being text with a robot. But this is rather unique.

That aside, the bigger picture is Kotaro's growing fear that he could become the Demon King, which that itself also ties into Kotaro spearing a life.

Part 18: Nara -The Awakening Ritual.

Kotaro returns to Japan, finding that Kyoko has been kidnapped (Good job letting her go shopping alone, Nobuhiko) The two begin a wild goose chase, following letters sent by Golgom, leading to Kofuki-ji temple, somewhat symbolic as the temple houses an Ashura Statue-- a God of peace until unleashing a wrath upon the heavens. Another letter leads to Todai-Jin temple with the Great Buddah, with a time of 12AM.

Kotaro and Nobuhiko arrive, the guards already taken care of. Soon they're confronted by four members of Golgom modeled after the four heavenly kings, followed by two more, Ashura Sky and Ashura Earth, who has Kyoko in tow.

They've lured Kotaro and Nobuhiko here for a ritural, to awaken Nobuhiko and to choose a king. Before the two can even react to this news, Nobuhiko begins to mutate and transform into a black grasshopper form like Kotaro's, going beserk and attacking with a mad bloodlust. Kotaro's pleas fall on deaf ears. He instead turns his attention to getting Kyoko out and disrupting this ritural, which he does so with a simple fire alarm. With emergency services in response, Kotaro is able to escape as Golgom scatter along with their plan.

Nobuhiko soon rejoins Kotaro, transforming back and having no memeory of what transpired. The two reconcile, Nobuhiko swearing to control his powers and help Kotaro, never to turn against eachother. But Kotaro has his doubts, and wonders if perhaps the Demon King could be Nobuhiko.

Part 19: Nepal - An Unusal Path.

We're back to focusing on Sam and Heather again, this time in Nepal with Heather's friend, Olga. Olga's father is a scholar of Asian relegion and discovered an unknown religion in a remote region, focusing heavily on destruction and rebirth. Kotaro is called in, not because it could be Golgom, but because Sam needed a guide. But hey, it works out.

Kotaro enters the village alone, finding it uninhabited. He comes to the great pagoda, entering and finding a Golom monster based upon Shiva, who has been expecting Kotaro. And I wanna take a moment to appreciate that Shiva is really into Kotaro, including his bug form.

You get it, girl.

Shiva clearly has no intention of fighting. She merely wanted to lure Kotaro here in preparation for Nobuhiko's arrival, who Shiva claims knows full well of the ritual. And unfortunately Shiva also has insurance in the form of Sam, Heather and Olga. With such a large army of mutants, Kotaro stands little chance. The four are imprisoned in the meanwhile. However Shiva offers Kotaro a chance to enjoy her quarters rather than the cell, which he takes her up on.

Kotaro asks about the base, which Shiva is all too happy to oblige, which even Kotaro finds odd. However this is only one of Golgom's HQ, and no one know where the main HQ is. By her own admission this entire base could go up and not make a dent within Golgom. Along the way they pass a massive machine meant for causing Earthquakes, which they plan to destroy the Himalayas with.

At the top of the Pagoda is Shiva's quarters, and this has a shockingly violent scene. After getting the last of his questions answered and learning that Olga's father is dead, he attacks Shiva. Now, Shiva has four arms, Kotaro has six. He restrains her with his insect arms while strangling her with his humanoid hands. Good lord.

Unfortunately, Shiva wasn't the only threat, as the Pagoda itself is a creature of chaos and begins attacking Kotaro. He fights his way through the strangely organic structure, past gastric acid, teeth, and eventually finds the brain, killing the building itself. But the danger is far from over, as a legion of monster come after Kotaro as he calls upon a swarm of Locust. Fighting his way underground, he finds the cell and frees Sam, Heather and Olga, just as the locust make their way to the great machine and sabotage it. The four escape as the village goes up in a great cataclysm of flame.

Not long afterwards, Nobuhiko arrives by helicopter, witnessing Kotaro's handy work. Kotaro is apprehensive at his arrival, although Nobuhiko claims he got a message from Kotaro that he was in trouble Once again, there's doubt between the two.

Regardless, Kotaro isn't returning to Japan, he's heading to Romania with Sam to investigate a Castle which could be another of Golgom's lairs.

Part 20: Australia - Back to the Future Chapter two.

Why do I get the feeling that should've been Land of Tomorrow Chapter 2? Whatever, that's what the fan translation calls it. We begin with Kotaro and Nobuhiko both taking out a den of monsters in Dracula's castle, until a massive Bat creature emerges and spews poison gas, the castle beings crumbling and Kotaro is caught right in he blast, but suddenly he's transported once again by Goom and Fitch.

Their situation is dire, they're barely holding on as attacks become more aggressive towards their village. Their only hope is if Kotaro stops the Demon King.

Kotaro is able to sense the Demon King's location and easily bypasses all the guards due to his appearance. The dark one himself was waiting patiently for Kotaro to arrive. What disturbs Kotaro the most is the King sounds like Nobuhiko, however the king claims to have no knowledge of him, going on to say that killing him is pointless, since he and Kotaro are one and the same. Whether this is a lie, the truth, or some in-between in unknown. Kotaro call him out the fact that if the Demon King is his future self, then strictly speaking Kotaro can't die lest this Demon King cease to exist. What is clear above all else is the 30 year difference between the two has lead to a chasm of abilities. The Demon King is simply too strong, and although Kotaro awakens a great power in their battle, his opponent is still too much. As the two clash, Kotaro is once again thrown through time, ending up at the Akizuki Household.

Part 21: Tokyo 1999

Kotaro enters the house, seemingly empty, until being discovered by a weary-eyed wheelchair bound Kyoko. It's been seven years. They thought Kotaro died in Romania and it's been rough ever since. There's a war, a strange disease, Aunt Taki died.

Nobuhiko arrives, Kotaro running to talk to him… only for Nobuhiko to want to settle the score and take Kotaro's power, becoming the ruler of this changing world. Kotaro is flung through time once more, ending up near Odaiba Island, also in 1999. Goom contacts Kotaro saying that this is the earliest appearance of the demon king and the best chance Kotaro has at defeating him.

The Demon King appears and basically confirms it's Nobuhiko when he says Kotaro won't escape this time. The two clash, the immense energy obliterating the Island into nothing, the two surrounded by the sea and lone capsized ship. All the while the Demon King taunts Kotaro, how no matter what he does, the world is already on the verge of ruin, and no matter who dies, there will always be a ruler. The king teleports away. We end with Kotaro alone on the ship, wondering if his actions will truly bring about a change, questioning who he really is.

Yuuuuup. That's it, that's the end of the manga. Oh boy.

Black's narrative is… strange. On one hand I can applaud utilizing the medium for a story/setting that obviously could never be told on a TV budget for Rider. There is a lot to enjoy about this manga. I love the art work, it's cute, it flows gorgeously from panel to panel, and the first half of the series of fairly strong with a few bumps here and there.

On the other hand, a lot of the book is a mixed bag overall. The dialogue is… Well, being a fan translation it's hard to say with complete certainty if it's intended to be so gratuitous, but early parts of the manga read like a diet Manga Entertainment dub script. Even as someone who curses a ton even in their reviews, it can get a tad obnoxious, distracting in how many fucks there are to give. Although it does improve in later volumes. Cursing aside, some of the wording can be stiff or awkward. It's not super common, maybe 5, 6 instances across the entire run, but it does stick out.

But those are nitpicks. A much more prevalent issue I take with the manga is the inconsistency. It is very scatter shot. There are a number of chapters that simply don't add much to the overall story or character development. Stuff like Chapter 4 in the UK or the Okinawa incident have inklings of interesting concepts like a deranged scientist impregnating his assistant with a monster, or a rogue Golgom mutant using their status in the military. But they ultimately don't go anywhere and feel like half baked non sequitur. By Vol 5 it starts to get a bit much with how short and inconsequential some of the parts are. Nobuhiko returning should be this grandiose moment and the fact it's plays so nonchalantly is captivating until you realize there's not much to it. He needs to be in the story now and that's it, and that pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the books issues.

That's the most frustrating thing about reading the Black Manga, there's plenty of great ideas and even wonderfully executed ones that I greatly enjoy. But there's tedious moments that rear their head with just enough frequency to bug me. Sure at first you'd get maybe one iffy chapter along with two or more solid ones. But then you start getting plot threads that abruptly end or were not fully developed, like detective Toro, or that necklace Kotaro got with no significance other than "This wasn't a dream." We get awkward exposition dumps in what was otherwise shaping up to be a solid chapter, like in Greece. We have a sequence for the sake of it, like with Cleopatra Jones. I feel like we're running on fumes.

Parts of it read like… Well, it reads like sparks of brilliance that weren't simmered on for very long and handled by someone severely sleep deprived who threw whatever concepts in because this was published weekly. Yeah, this was a weekly Shonen Sunday publication.

It's kinda hard not to consider or think about the fact the author himself was on fumes whenever reading Ishinomori's work, or just about anyone else's from that era. Black wasn't even the only book he was working on at the time. Hotel was arguably the more noteworthy work given the critical lauding it got. The man was not only working insane hours, but on two works. Even those short chapters are about 16 pages on average and I also think that's in part why so many MacGuffins, characters, and plot points don't actually go anywhere. And that's even true for this Golgom, which is rather inconsistent and underdeveloped. They're simultaneously a massive web of an organization, yet don't keep tabs on powerful individuals who can undermine them at a moments notice, unless the plot needs them to, like Akizuki. They prop up powerful businesses likes Akizuki's, yet they're so desperate for funds they're willing to spend time scrounging up Gold in a deserted remote village with the only opposition being one old dude and his dumb son. Forget the Zombies, get an army of mole men with metal detectors you morons. Kotaro is a chosen son of Golgom, yet several within the organization don't seem to have a clue they have a rebellious Black Grasshopper monster. Remember, Kotaro was able to lie to both a scientist and military commander about working for Golgom. Is this an evil organization or like 40 dudes across the world who happened to get on the same BBS? I guess you could say they're a dangerous but wildly incompetent organization, which isn't unrealistic, but I never got the impression that was the intent. To compound matters, Golgom in the Manga is mysterious to a fault. Sometimes a mystery is the appeal, ambiguity the point, and to answer that is a mistake. Like answering who caused the Great War in Fallout-- it doesn't matter and giving a definitive answer takes away from the shared equal blame of nationalistic insanity, which is much more abstract than an individual you can point the finger towards. It's in the past and everyone is dealing with the fallout of national global stupidity. Giving an answer to that would be really fucking stupid, wouldn't it? But I digress.

With Golgom we know so little about the hierarchy or operations that I'm not really sure what the hell their deal is beyond doomsday cult that co-opts religious imagery, or what the demon king even rules over beyond some vagueness of the ruined world and a few Dragon Quest rejects. I'm glad they're not a rehash of a Shocker or Black Ghost type deal, but you might as well say monsters appear out of nowhere with no rhyme or reason for all that we do know. I'm not saying you need a creation king or three priests, I think that would be a mistake. But you need something else, something that doesn't give too much away but justifies the esoteric nature of the organization in a more gratifying manner than some unknown group making monsters and going "oooo no one knows the truth." This, to me, feels like creating intrigue and then not knowing what to do with it.

Which brings me to the ending.

You know, I don't hate the ending. The concept that if Kotaro kills the demon king he becomes the new ruler is an interesting one. Sure you can argue that Kotaro may or may not lose himself to the power and become just as bad, but that's not the point. It's more about the idea that by the very nature of defeating the demon king it would by default make him the most powerful, which is far more captivating than if the demon king is his future self or Nobuhiko, which I don't give a damn about. Although, that does ultimately play a role in questioning his sense of self that the series ends on and why it makes sense that you could never show either being victorious or have a clear cut answer to the who. Unlike how Golgom is handled, I really like this angle…for the most part.

That doesn't mean I like all of that in practice. It's something that I think works fantastic as a theme, but not a narrative. I'm just gonna say it, the time travel is fucking stupid bouncing Kotaro around different points when the demon king already exists and things are already pretty bad… it kinda seems like plucking Kotaro out of time to face the demon king was worse than simply letting him systematically do what he was doing to Golgom in the past. Kinda does seem like him not being there is what allowed the Demon King to exist. I guess that is part of the open ended questions the series leaves. But I dunno, it feels clunky. The '71 manga also had a somewhat bittersweet ending that was still open, but it felt right and was making a point. This feels messy and I don't think the themes alone are a strong enough crutch to support how wonky the story gets. Or the characters for that matter.

Ultimately, I come down on the manga not dissimilar from a lot of OVAs from the 80s. Notable high points, throwing every kinda idea at the wall for both good or ill, and leaving on more questions than answers, but not necessarily in the most satisfactory manner. And I wish I liked it hell of a lot more than I do. In some ways this does make the manga fascinating from a meta perspective in what does and doesn't work. How something imperfect can still have solid yarns, while even the weakest moments can have something worth taking away.

But that makes it difficult to recommend outright. It's not bad but given Ishinomori's body of work I'd be hard pressed to recommend it over anything else… Maybe the Gorenger manga? That's not bad either, but certainly written solely for a check. (then again, considering how this final volume goes, Ishinomori seems to have just wanted to get it over with) For what it's worth, this never feels like a slog, but I also don't think it needed to be 6 volumes. It simply gets lost in its own obtuseness by vol 5 that you probably could've cut this down to 4 volumes worth of material and had a tighter story. But I also don't think that would solve the more fundamental issues I have with it. Plus we'd be missing out on Ishinomori's art, which is always a silver lining if nothing else. The Black Manga is an interesting relic and far be it from me to discourage reading it. But it's not Ishinomori at his best. I can easily recommend the '71 manga, Skullman, Robot Detective and of course 009 ahead of it.

You know what, I can recommend the Black manga over Genma Wars. So there's that.

As always, thanks for reading and you can find my ko-fi page here and my bsky here.

[fire-fira]

Blue Devil #16

For as silly as some of this is, the in-world world-building of this page is fascinating and gives me so much academic nerdy glee.

And shout out to Clark for covering his ass by writing about himself. lol

(Transcribed text below the cut for easier reading for anyone interested.)

Apologia and Addenda: On the Secrets of Kid Devil

By S.W. Kirschtorte, PH.D., Elvira Coddleston, PH.D., and Irving Bleinseid, PH.D

L-2052

Aftermath--Following the return to mental stability of Van "Vanquisher" Vanucci, participants in his capture pose outside Herby's Health Hut, where the house special, Sprout Surprise for 10, was enjoyed by all.

It was the late Prof. Jack Nachbar, during his ill-fated inquiry into the motivations of the notorious Lex Luthor, who first observed, "Oh, no, he's got a--a laser rifle of some sort! I told you we never should have tried to penetrate his--EYAAAGH!" (Nachbar and Bleinseid, "Inside Luthor's Lair: An Unfinished Odyssey," JHNCS, I:4, Autumn 1980). The strenuous objections, bordering on paranoia, with which scholarly attempts at conscientious scrutiny have been fended off by hero and villain alike have since been well documented, and long decried, in this Journal. Thus it must come as no small surprise to many of our colleagues that the authors of "The Secret Identity Scandal: Super-hero as Jekyll and Hyde" (JHNCS, II:3, Summer 1981) should have chosen to conceal the alter ego of the youth known as Kid Devil (see preceding article for an account of his origins).

Let us first assure one and all that this decision was not made under the pressure of recent publicity [editor's note: former heavyweight boxing champion Ted Grant has withdrawn his lawsuit stemming from the article "Wildcat: Brain Damage and the Heroic Ideal"], nor will we cease to publish such excellent speculative series as the current "Man and Superman" (in our next issue, longtime Superman watcher Clark Kent explains why he thinks that the Man of Steel may in fact have no secret identity at all).

In this special instance, however, explicit assurances of privacy and anonymity have been made to the parents of the lad we have called "Beaver." A second condition of Kid Devil's continued training, and the Institute's assistance in same, was that he be restrained from further public displays of hypernormal abilities. Thus, despite the exploits detailed above, Kid Devil can hardly be said to have reached the status of public personality that would make him "fair game," as it were, for incisive dissection by the scholarly scalpel. Therefore, while full disclosure of Kid Devil's progress will be made in subsequent issues of this Journal, it must and will be done within the parameters established in consultation with "Beaver's" parents.

Having taken this unusual decision, we thought it appropriate to review the issues in the secret identity debate. Longtime readers will recall our second anniversary roundtable on the subject (Kirschtorte, Dibny, Olsen, et al, "The Private Lives of Powered Persons: Secret Identities in a Free Society," JHNCS, III:1, Winter 1982), in which the estimable James B. "Jimmy" Olsen set forth the reasons why the typical "super-hero" (to use the common parlance) chooses to conceal certain facts from public view. Foremost among these was the familiar argument that "criminals could strike at a hero through his loved ones." The origins of this particular paranoid delusion are hard to pin down (cf. Coddleston, "The Loved Ones: Unresolved Oedipal Conflicts in the Orphaned Superman," JHNCS, V:2, Spring 1984), but it must be said that the experiences of Ralph "Elongated Man" Dibny, Dan "Blue Devil" Cassidy, and John "Green Lantern" Stewart do not bear it out. As Dibny said, "Anyone who tries it is gonna find my elongated fingers reaching down his throat and ripping out his (continued on p. 117)

Journal of Hypernormal Conflict Studies VI:2, Summer 1985

[king-hsssy]

ThunderCats #8 Recap and Review

Arg sorry this took forever, school got in the way + Marvel Rivals. I have bad hands so I have to pick and choose what the hell I'm going to use them for daily. I am also changing the structure of these and will be leaving my thoughts at the end of the recap. Anyway, onto #8!

Spoiler Free Review: Claudus' Pontius Pilate era

Spoilers under the cut!!

Recap

A Tygra centered issue just like I suspected. The story opens up with the head architect and scientist of the ThunderCats hanging upside down on the skeleton of what will become Cats Lair. Panthero chides him from abandoning his bed rest, but Tygra wont budge as he is trying to move the Treasures of Thundera into their new base.

The Treasures of Thundera is that armory via a portal that Snarf brought to the Cats attention back in issue 2 or 3. As they go to place it Tygra gets sucked into it and pops out on the other side, ending up next to Old King Claudus.

Tygra realizes the portal transported him back to Thundera months before the planet was destroyed. He reminisces about his friendship with the king while Claudus tells Snarf about his new job protecting this place.

While Claudus talks to Snarf, telling the creature he will remain with the Treasures until called upon by Lion-O, he is attacked by an individual hooded in a cloak that resembles the head of Cats Lair. As they battle the figure incapacitates Snarf with magic and strikes down the king, monologuing on how he is going to teach Claudus how to fear. At this point Tygra interferes.

The cloaked figure continues to spar with both words and his halberd, claiming he knows Tygra. Apparently the halberd is supposed to do something but it does jack shit and the figure yeets that shit. His tantrum is interupted by Jaga.

Jaga does not attack, in fact he doesn't seem to acknowledge the trio mid-tussle. He walks in, leading a mass of Mu'Tant prisoners from the Great War that are being escorted through the hall of Treasures into another portal. Soldiers, women, children, being lead to somewhere. This doesn't surprise Claudus as the king solemnly watches. This does surprise Tygra, who first thought the mass of prisoners to be Thunderian refugees. The fight continues after the last guard goes through the portal.

The figure continues to wail into Claudus and incapacitates Tygra with mental magic, the same way he did Snarf. Speaking about how the future will be "a tragedy" as he disappears into another portal.

We cut to Mumm-Ra, who is trying to locate they Eye of Thundera with magic but gets zapped with red energy. He says he has felt this power before, but its changed and "more".

Cutting back to Tygra, Claudus and Snarf, the king remarks on how Tygra is much older than he remembers and asks if their plan to escape to Third Earth had worked. Tygra tells him that they are there, not without loss and then questions Claudus on what he saw with the prisoners. Claudus explains that the prisoner transport was one of mercy, as members of the Council wanted to execute them to deter more attacks after the Great War but the king could not bring himself to commit that act. Instead he developed a ruse, the Mu'Tants would belive that the prisoners had been killed but in reality they were transported via the Hall in their own words quote:

"...a world which we knew could sustain them, while removing the imminent threat to our home. Once we became aware that Thundera would be destroyed, Third Earth became our lifeline."

Tygra is baffled to why Claudus would have considered escaping to a planet purposefully filled with their enemies was a good one, but tries to question Claudus on their mysterious cat attacker. The king does not know about the cloaked figure, but asks Tygra to keep all that's transpired and has been told to him to himself before sending Tygra back through a portal.

On Third Earth, Snarf its guarding the entrance to the Tresures and doesn't permit the twins or Lion-O from entering. Tygra barrels through the portal door and crashes into the unsuspecting Lord, nocking them both off the scaffolding. Lion-O is able to catch hold of the side but Tygra has to be swept up by Panthero. He can't tell them what he and Claudus talked about, but he can tell them when the mysterious Cats Lair clad figure showed him while attacking him with magic. The Mu'Tants have arrived at the skeleton of Cats Lair.

Review

So far the most interesting issue yet, so many questions have popped up. The Treasures seams to exists in a place outside of time where actions that happened months ago in this space can be seen in the future. Basically Book of Omens but without the Book? Or an extension of it? Then Claudus comes out of left field with the war crime committee. God I love morally ambiguous Claudus, 2011 did wonders with that. The irony of Third Earth becoming Thundera's sanctuary after being its dumping ground is so intriguing and I can't wait to see the native denizens of Third Earth reacting to the Cats. No doubt they will recognize that Cats are the ones who brought this invading force onto their planet. The Warrior Women especially will most likely react negatively. As this review is written after I have read ThunderCats: Apex #1 I know who the cloaked guy is and... not what I was originally expecting. When I first read this issue I was entertaining the idea this was going to be Grune with a nice new design. Alas.

[bookhighlightss]

Once upon a broken heart trilogy book review

★ Once upon a broken heart

1. Oh my lord he's just so fine. So hot. So sarcastic. If you couldn't tell already I love him. So much.

2. Okay um can I just say I hate one thing about Evangeline is that she has this "saviour I'm too nice" complex and tbh I don't fw that. SPOILERS AHEAD.

There's this scene where they are in a vampire's lair and she sees her ex lover or wtv and she wants to save him and jacks is all THIS IS A BAD IDEA DON'T FALL FOR IT and she obv like the main character she is goes like nooooo I will like girll fuck off he's a changeling nothing good will come out of this and quite obv he wants to bite her and jacks to save her gets his aarse bitten and shes like oh no I fucked up LIKE NO SHIT SHERLOCK YOU'RE SAVIOUR COMPLEX IS SHOWING but yea thas one thing that ticked me off.

SPOILERS ENDED.

3. Okay this book got me Outta my reading slump and it's like 300 pages so it's short and I finished it in 4 hrs so like I'd recommend this if you're like in a mood for a quick read.

4. The plot twists are twisting and it's so good with like the most shocking pcs of information and the way Evangeline pieces things together and it's just like damn everything's clicking now.

5. Lastly the " little " in front of the fox gets to me but the age gap is gapping ( iykyk ). Altho I think the book should have been lengthier considering the amt of things going on so it could be more descriptive but ig it's good bcs it's going so fast?

★ The ballad of never after

1. If I was crazy over the first book , I am absolutely psychotic over this book.

2. Okay so the first book they didn't have that much chemistry but oh god the second book made up for it in so many ways.

3. This is prolly the first book in reading which has the perfect slowburn like damn

4. SPOILERS AHEAD. OKAY SO the scene where he decides that saving Eva was more important than changing the timeline to meeting his love and not getting it wrong this time ...fuckkk that played with my heart like he knew he could never get that back and he was ready to still sacrifice his needs for eva only for her to lose her memories holy shitttt

SPOILERS ENDED.

5. Okay so at the end of the first book and the whole second book I felt SO FREAKING BAD for apollo I was like noooo I can't handle this triangle but thennn Apollo was like hehe I'm gonna be a little bitch so then I am so ready for when he gets killed if he gets killed bcs I need that man's head on the dagger desperately. He pulled the most heartless shit ever when eva went thru hell and back for him.

★ The curse of true love

1. Can I just say this book did not give what it was supposed to??? Like the chemistry just got lesser???

2. Okay the dagger scene was so hot tho. And the inn scene bcs damn.

3. Okay the way Evangeline remembered wasn't like SCENEMATIC enough ykwim??? Like I was expecting so much more and that was so less???

4. Okay one I'm more interested in lala's story??? Bcs genuinely what's going on there??

5. I HATE APOLLO. If I thought I was hating him in book 2 then it was loathe in book 3 for me. He just became so sick and twisted like it made me pukish. Kinda disappointed in the book but the last few chapters made up for it ig so yea

Overall I think the book needs HEAVY editing for it to give what it's supposed to?? Like ig the book is too short for such an intense plot I feel like Stephanie could've taken so much more out of this book than she did. And a part of me was waiting for eva to eventually become badass but she always stays the naive damsel in distress girl which kinda got to me bcs I'm all for super lit characters and a few things remain a mystery in this series. Like he's immortal she's not?? What are they gonna do?? She has magic in her blood and thas it?? They couldn't milk it further to make her super badass?? Overall plot is amazing but the story should have been written better

ALSO SUPER MEGA SIDE NOTE THAT CHANGES MY PERSPECTIVE OF THE BOOKS AND STEPHANIE GARBER

She's a Zionist. I just found that out when I was going thru Goodreads review and now I've got the ick bcs till now I was boycotting authors who are Zionist and to find out you just read a book by a zio just makes me sick to my stomach. I really this is a lie or sumn bcs I can't find any posts on twitter tt Tumblr and ig where it says shes a zio so idk I just saw a comment that said she's a zio and thas all so idk. Zionist authors immediately make me change perspective of the book. Was gonna read caraval but not anymore.

UPDATE did my research and found out she is promoting Sarah j mass who is a very proud Zionist among other things therefore it's an ick either way. Not reading caraval

Overall id give the series a 8.5/10

[unchataparis]

A Review of Exaltation

They hate each other so much, lmao.

The loss of faith in Ladybug is really emphasised, I’m glad that the plot didn’t just go forward without mentioning the social ramifications of losing the Miraculous Box. The masses of Paris never had much of a role before, aside from being fearful civilians or supporters. In this season, however, they have gone from side-characters and scene-fillers to having voices of their own. Realistically, of course, people will have contentions with Ladybug. Jalil’s own little sister risking her life for what appears to be a foolhardy mission for Ladybug would irk his nerves. I didn't expect this, but I'm glad the writers wrote this in.

It’s symbolic that Lila’s avatar is the one reading the criticism.

Again, Chat Noir seems to have vanished.

Napoléon.

All the past Ladybugs are here.

This Jeanne d'Arc design is very eye-catching, but she looks far too old here. Jeanne d’Arc died at 19, and she’s immortalised as a fourteen-year-old. This Jeanne looks middle-aged. Far too grisly.

“She’s afraid of her feelings and running away by inventing new ones for someone unavailable.” There you go, they acknowledge it in the show, twice.

Doom-scrolling. This is a criticism on social media.

“If you ride horses, you would know it’s a trap.” This suggests that Adrien rides horses.

Scene of Félix and Adrien playing polo in London, when?

Oh, that is terrifying. Reminds me of the nightmare 2D sequences from The Prince of Egypt.

There a scene in the second Origins episode in Season 1 where Adrien is asked who was the first president of the 5th French Republic, and Adrien answers “Everyone thinks it was de Gaulle, but it was actually René City before the first elections.” A repeat of that happens here, where Adrien, or Chat Noir, is asked a question and he answers it while disapproving the common myth. Reminds the audience that no matter how he acts, Adrien is smart.

A lot of Season 1 callbacks, from villains, action sequences, to little moments like these.

Pharaoh is held in constraints of his own powers. He doesn’t control the truth either, the Book of Ma’at does.

This is a pretty cool sequence. I don’t know it its true or not, but the animation style is pretty neat. Looks like a moving tapestry.

“Missed again! How did they do it?” By attending their history classes.

No matter what else changes in Future Paris, I’m glad they kept the Louvre.

Bunnyx cameo.

Whoa, the new Cataclysm music? It sounds neither triumphant nor villainous. Just - here and ready to blast.

Since when did powered-up Ladybug have extra hair ribbons?

Monarch knows clearly that he’s the villain, no matter how well-intentioned his motives are.

The fact that Ladybug is a good person and does good things is an ultimate truth.

At least Jalil is willing to admit to his mistakes.

Might this be the first time that Gabriel leaves his lair without a single word of taunt or swearing revenge. He approaches Nathalie’s bedroom, and simply apologies. That single statement packs quite a lot of heat and history behind it. Despite gaining so much ground, winning so many new advantages, Gabriel doesn't feel an inch closer to victory.

This is a sweet story, touching on France's history of contention with the English, the idea that love and understanding can overcome differences. The oil paintings used to illustrate the story is inspired. But I really hate it whenever any media tries to absorb some real-world figures or mystery into their lore. George Washington was actually a child of Athena, the Stonehenge was created to fight aliens, Jack the Ripper was actually a demon slain by our hands. The Hell they are. I cannot accept that Sun Wukong was a normal man using a Monkey Miraculous, or that Mulan used the Dragon Miraculous to win her wars. Jeanne d’Arc is the only past Ladybug Holder that is an actual person, I think, and it’s just very strange to claim that her power came from Miraculous jewels. Pushes the suspension of disbelief even further.

Adrien gets his own Kwagatama, finally.

[radiant-flutterbun]

Lair Review for @dragonwysper​

First impressions: You have a neatly organized lair with a lot of varied dragons!

Velkurpeni

Oooo she’s cool! I love your art in her bio! It’s very pretty! As for the dragon herself, the Victor’s skull is definitely what makes this dragon. It shows so much personality. However I do feel like some of her apparel is a bit too busy, especially with all those halos layered over each other. Unless you were going for a chaotic energy with the layering? I also love the new space scene for her!

Prazdnota

A space child! If I could steal this dragon I 100% would. Starcon on veils goes hard and plum is a GREAT color. I had no idea plum gave a blue gradient effect for constellation on veils. I’m in love with the look. And the accent doesn’t distract from the natural beauty of the dragon, but enhances it.

Jeffrey

Omg a Jeff the Killer fandragon. I did not expect to see a creepypasta inspired dragon. You did a great job at making him look like the character! I even thought of Jeff the Killer before looking at his name or bio.

Jack

I appreciate a nice basic/basic dragon now and then! Cobalt smirch looks good with steel! I can also relate to tough breeding projects when you’re trying to get a nonexistent combo. I was working on my own rare color combo project with special eyes when the eye update happened too. Congrats on completing your boy!

Seedeater

Oh this is a fun looking dragon! I like how you’ve layered all the feathered apparel. This dragon is Extra Birb and I love them. I’ve never heard of the Seedeater creepypasta before but I do appreciate a neat creepy bird creature.

Alpijskija

A nice frosty dragon! They look nice and cozy for the winter in their arctic apparel. The steampunk wings and goggles were also a nice addition! I was honesyly surprised that their primary was oilslick because with the combo of their apparel and the white from piebald you can hardly see any of the oilslick on them! It’s a neat affect that makes them look more wintery!

Rubin

This lad has a fun ID! That’s a lot of 4s! I like how the bloodstone cascades match his berry opal. The purple birdskull goes surprisingly well with the helpful healer’s apparel.

Wysper

A spooky look! I LOVE the layering of the sanddune rags, bone crown and antlers! It gives this guy such a unique look. It’s extremely well done! The fuchsia ghost on top of black crystal is also such a good look I love contrasting bright colors on top of dark and ghost is one of the best genes to do that! Everything about how you’ve dressed him is very good, but the smokeswirl really ties everything together.

Ohen

This dragon is on fire! Ironic considering they’re an ice dragon. I love the effect of sunshine smoke over oilslick. I also like how well the apparel blends into the dragon. It’s subtle yet helps the dragon pop. The haunting apparel really help give this dragon that ‘on fire’ look. the accent is also simple but effective. The antlers from the accent gives them such a unique look!

Marjanka

Is that a WEED dragon? Highly illegal. I am reporting you to the mods. I’m joking, I’m joking. I enjoy the funny weed dragon.This is a perfect dragon for the Marva eyes and I’m loving the addition of all the plants and the mushrooms.

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Shazam! Fury of the Gods

There is a sense of balance that has been missing in the big blockbuster films these days. The balance between telling a story that has a theme that resonates with throughout the story and then the big CGI spectacle of the opening, mid and finale that acts as a button to the story more often. More films focus on the spectacle and even though it may be visually pleasing, it often just pads out the film without any of the visuals telling a story or even affecting it. This film didn't waste any of its time doing that, but the spectacle was informed by the plot and did affect the characters within it. What I truly loved about this film is that it kept that same since of wonder and darkness the first film started and it stayed in its lane. It connects to the soon to be rebooted DCEU, but it stands strong enough on it own to be a soft disconnect. The themes of growing up, responsibilities, acceptance and family were refreshing to see handled in such a skilled way. This film reminded me of the late 80's and mid 90's kid and teen films where they weren't afraid to address the humanity of the heroes. Growing up can be scary because you don't want to let go of the fun times where the world seemed so open and free before stepping into adulthood. This film tackles that subject through the eyes of the leads while still giving us a surprisingly fun family action film that has a horror edge to it.

Asher Angel and Zachary Levi return as Billy Batson / Shazam and they're still magnetic and fun. Billy now has to balance being a leader and teenager growing into an adult and that was great to see handled. Asher does this wonderfully and actual gets to shine  in the more emotional segments. Zachary Levi takes on the majority of the weight this time as the adult version of Billy and through him, you see Billy's naivtey really become his weakness in so many ways. Zachary's comedic timing and joyful take on the character was spot on and he nails what its like to be a teen in an adult's body. Billy's journey from child to adult was hilarious and also heartfelt. Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody couldn't be more of a perfect pair as the teen and adult version of Freddy Freeman. Jack truly steals the film with his amazing wit, charm and hilarious sarcasm. His energy is so infectious and I loved that he is the center of the story this time around. He truly delivers a show stopping performance and Adam Brody amplifies that as his adult persona. Adam shows the more cocky nature of Freddy when he's "super" which was so much fun. Grace Caroline Currey was wonderful and wise as Mary Bromfield. She is the oldest in the family and I loved seeing her embrace the real world while still having fun as a superhero. She is that reminder that we all have to grow up at some point and contribute to a household and the world in some way. Ross Butler and Ian Chen were fun yet again as the young version and the adult version of Eugene Choi. They both show off his intelligent and exploratory nature within their lair. D. J. Cotrona and Jovan Armand were fantastic yet again as Pedro Peña. The way he handles his coming out to the family was handled very well and builds to a moment of true acceptance and I loved that it was natural and not forced. Meagan Good and Faithe Herman were the heart of the film as the adult and child version of Darla Dudley. The innocence of the character was so much fun and beautifully showcased by both actresses. I couldn't get enough them together or even separately. Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews return as their foster parents Rosa and Victor Vásquez and they both get so many great moments to shine and really bring the family together in a touching scene.

The score by Christophe Beck was awesome and epic in all the right ways as the action in the film really ramps up. When the screen isn't filled with action, he nails the more emotional moments. Visually the film was stunning to look at and I loved that the colors popped. The creatures in the film were yet again another standout and ranged from terrifying to badass. Its been a long time since anyone has brought to life any of the iconic monsters of the Greek mythos and I loved every bit of their strong and sometimes violent nature. Where the film has problems is the last half of the film. It tends to feel bloated in the last 30 minutes as the same amount of destruction keeps happening that makes the film drag on. There are moments that could've trimmed or cut to tighten up the finale. Director David S. Sandberg directed the first film that was a fun Christmas themed family film that tackled some heavy themes and wasn't afraid to touch on the darkness of the villains. He continues that here and has made another fun family film that adults can enjoy as well. Even with the bloated third act, this was an action packed and hefty 2 hour epic that should not be missed. Do stick around for the 2 great credit scenes. I don't know where this franchise will go once the DCEU is rebooted, but I hope we see a payoff to the story crumbs leftover from these 2 scenes. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[flowerish-cherry-blue]

book review: the beautiful by renée ahdieh | 2019

summary:

in 1872, new orleans is a city ruled by the dead. but to seventeen-year-old celine rousseau, new orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in paris. taken in by the sisters of the ursuline convent along with six other girls, celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. she soon becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as la cour des lions, after catching the eye of the group's leader, the enigmatic sébastien saint germain. when the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of la cour des lions, celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about sébastien's guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

when more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, celine and new orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose — one celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. as the murders continue to go unsolved, celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.

my opinion:

wow, it may have taken me a little while to read it, but geez, that was good. the author's style and language surprised me, all the descriptions, the intrigue... It was something.

i didn't immediately realize where this book was supposed to be about vampires, as that part was revealed almost at the end. and overall I started reading because it was in top rated for vampires. gosh, and that raft twist about the killer － i know that so many authors who write about that time use that trick, kind of making the killer look like jack the ripper. and even though it sounds fullish, I like it a lot, it adds a kind of detective flavor that i sometimes miss in books.

as i noted above, i enjoyed the language and writing style of renée ahdieh, for those who are non-native speakers like me, I think this is a great opportunity to improve vocabulary, honestly.

by the way, i want to note that before this, i did not come across books with a setting in new orleans - i think it's a pity that i read the story about this city so late. as someone who is obsessed with french culture and writing stories about it, i was incredibly happy to get a taste of how french culture permeated this city, which seemed to me to be a direct embodiment of melting pot.

perhaps i should point out the following, because books always have two sides, just like coins:

• as i said, i liked the author's language, it will help those who are learning the language. but at the same time, that was the problem. as a non-native speaker, it was sometimes very difficult to wade through the pages of descriptions. just imagine, four pages, of descriptions of some closet. !not literally!

• the plot, this is going to sound strange, but it was a little primitive. just a little bit. and i don't see anything wrong with that in this case. but literally from the introduction chapter of the killer, i knew it was a jack the ripper protégé. when celine and bastien crossed paths, i understood who is with whom, and i also get who pippa will be with, literally one meeting of the four was enough for me.

• again, i really liked the new orleans setting - how many times have i read about london, paris and new york? it was something new to me that i really enjoyed and i can't wait to read more about the history of this city.

• i was a little disappointed in the choice of character who turned out to be a murderer. i swear i thought detective grimaldi or nico saint germain was the killer: michael is bastien's nemesis, nicodemus － why not. I was saddened by the introduction of an unknown character as the killer, and certainly his puppet didn't seem like a good choice at all.

• you can kill me all you want, but nicodemus saint germain is not a pleasant character. i was waiting for him to show up after the description odette provided, but here he is and the first thing he does is threaten celine, trying to intimidate her. then he refuses to save his own nephew, literally the whole court of the lions was built to protect sébastien and here, he twirls his nose, saying that if he helps, all his efforts will go to waste. oh man, i thought better of you and now, are you kidding me?

finishing, i highly recommend reading this book. seriously, I haven't read such a good vampire book for a long, well except for the coldest girl in coldtown, that's the number one favorite, but we'll talk about it next time maybe. this book has everything i love, from enemies to lovers, vampires, magic, and most importantly humor, it was really entertaining to read this book.

my rating:

4.4/5

«a snake?» pippa squeaked, looking for all the world as if she wanted to melt into the paneled wall at her back. «what kind of person has a pet snake?»

«lucifer,» celine said in a flat voice. «lucifer would have a pet snake.»

[mutable-manifestation]

Love the take. Love the implications.

Maybe liminals are naturally angry.

Maybe ecto craves to be in the zone (the dead are made to be in the land of the dead, the ecosystem of the living simply isn't built for them). So liminals - who alive but not quite?

They feel out of place.

Like an itch under the skin of a pebble in your shoe.

Annoying.

Constant.

Wrong.

Worst of all, this is an annoyance that can't quite be fixed.

Not normally, at least.

Ever since the portal came on, the people of Amity have grown steadily more liminal.

When the city was taken into the Zone itself? There isn't a single non-liminal left.

Locals become moodier when they leave Amity. Journeys away are infrequent, short. Why would anyone move away when home is so perfect?

And Amity is perfect.

Because Amity Park? The location itself is liminal.

The land, the air, every inch of amity is halfway to the Ghost Zone.

The portal may be in the Fenton basement, but the veil is thin throughout.

The entire city dwelt in the Zone - briefly, perhaps. And perhaps there was a shield, sure.

A shield can only do so much.

To dance with death you must touch it, and Amity Park has been dancing since the day Danny Fenton tripped in his parents' portal.

A liminal city - a place just as alive as it's citizens. Just as touched by death.

Amity Park is Home to liminals.

Home in the way the Far Frozen is to the Yetis.

Home in the way Dora's Kingdom is to her people.

Amity Park is the Living Lair of Liminals. Phantom is their Frostbite in ghostly matters, Vlad is their Frostbite in living matters.

For all the man comes across as sketchy, Vlad Masters is a competent mayor.

(Vlad hardly notices himself becoming less hostile to Jack as the ecto levels of the city increase.

Hardly notices when he no longer wants to kill the man, when plans switch from murder and marriage to finding ways to fight both of the elder Fentons.

Hardly notices how much he holds back against both, more playing than fighting. How his goal switches from 'remove obstacle and obtain human' to 'bond-fight with frightmates to make them stronger and also Quality Time.'

Jazz does. Danny does.

Jazz adds a section on dehumanization (deghostification?) of human lives as a form of paranormal bias potentially as a response to and expression of past-self-loathing to her thesis.

Danny just breathes a sigh of relief that the fruitloop might actually be done with the whole murder thing - as weird as it would be to accept him as an actual sort of uncle-figure, it'd be better than worrying about his dad dying and his mom being kidnapped all the time.

Not that either of them realize the cause of this. Amity is very oblivious to its increasing liminality, including Jazz and the trio. Even with Valerie's Suit Powers smacking them in the face.)

Is it any wonder Jason doesn't want to leave? When he spent so long feeling awful he forgot what it was like to feel okay?

To feel better than just okay?

-------------------------------

Funny enough, what brings them to Amity is the same thing that once kept them away.

Amity Park has been a ghost-themed tourist city for as long as it's existed, stuffed with haunted houses, spooky cemeteries, and eerie scenery. When the city started reporting 'ghost attacks' on their news channels, the JL didn't bother to check in.

After all, they hadn't gotten any distress calls about it. It was just another cash grab to lure in tourists.

(The GIW feared the JL would be 'overly sympathetic.' Rerouting JL line calls would be a problem. But calls out of Amity Park? The GIW ensured their attempts to reach anyone but the GIW never got off the ground.)

This belief suffered damage when tourism dropped.

It wasn't just a matter of a poor season either. Hardly noticeable at first, truthfully.

Reports of haunted houses in the city closing here, a ghost show being denied a request to view a house there, tourist reviews reporting a sense of hostility from the locals there.

It snowballed.

They only really noticed because Tim decided to cyber stalk Vlad Masters after he declined Bruce's invite to a gala - an invite the man had been angling for for literal years.

Having become a mayor recently, the man should have found networking all the more valuable.

Tim started his research by looking at the city itself: Amity Park, 'The Most Haunted City in America.'

The official city website was just a few dozen red flags in a trench coat.

The home page read (Un)Welcome to Amity Park. There were standard tabs - news, utilities, tourism.

News showed the same funny ghost theme, except...the article were all played straight. Masters' official addresses to the city even played the ghost topic straight - there were videos. He talked like he was serious about 'installing a new lattice of ghost shields to prevent damage to roads and sidewalks in future attacks.'

Utilities included 'Public ecto-device updates & maintenance' as well as a personal version. The sections were fully functional and the forms would actually be sent to the city.

A quarter of the city's budget claimed to be dedicated to this service.

The tourism page managed to be the most alarming.

Amity Park's ghost theme was due to it being a tourist trap.

The tourism section stated, in large, bold, underlined letters:

Closed for Tourism

"Of the 257 tourists to visit Amity in the previous month, 2 died and another 19 were seriously injured due to a failure to adhere to local warnings and safety practices. If you must visit Amity Park please obtain a brochure from City Hall immediately and read it in full. Take care to adhere to all safety measures when within city limits. Thank You."

What followed was a long list of 'closed' businesses - all tourist traps and attractions, plus a few hotels (it hadn't been a large city to begin with. More of a town at 'barely scraping 20K people').

At the very end was a list of resources for people who "intended to visit anyway, or to move to the city" with a few small bed & breakfasts and houses for sale or rent.

If the 'attacks' were meant to drum up tourism, why shoot down would-be tourists at the gate?

Looking at footage from the 'attacks' only added to his suspicions.

Early on, the supposed ghosts were staticky blurs of color, barely noticeable on the screen.

Fiddling with the image resolution and sharpness didn't have any affect on it - though it did make the trees and cars in the background clearer.

Eventually he gave it up as a lost cause and started looking through the rest of the videos - and boy were there plenty of them.

Going in chronological order, he noticed a trend.

Over time, video and audio quality got worse. Like the camera itself was slowly becoming distorted.

Except much of it was amateur phone footage, meaning every camera in Amity Park would have to be degrading at the same speed.

Then, it worsened drastically all at once.

One video was slightly blurry and staticky throughout, but he could still make out what things were well enough.

The next video? Incomprehensible.

Noise and color and blurs.

Staticky-noise that, if he listened closely, almost sounded like whispers and screams and cries.

There was nothing recognizable.

It made his hair stand on end.

He got back to digging.

There wasn't much else to find. Or rather, what he found was a lack of what he should be finding.

Locals' social media pages were all dark, chat rooms for the city's people were inaccessible no matter how hard he tried. It was like the firewalls were coming alive to eat his code when he tried to force his way in.

Trying to hack a device in the city was worse; whatever code showed up on the screen was a type or OS he recognized. It gave him malware.

He almost went nuclear on his computer to protect his data, though he thankfully found a built-in off-switch before he had to do that.

Still.

Something was up with Amity Park.

He had to know what.

---------------------------

When Tim debriefs the rest of the family on the weird situation, Bruce assigns him to investigate personally.

"Constantine checked in on the place a little less than two years ago to ensure the attacks were just tourism grabs, but it's possible he missed something. Or that the situation changed."

Going out of the city on a mission alone is, of course, not an option.

What better cover story to visit the city inconspicuously than Tim Drake-Wayne and Jason Todd going on a bro-bonding road trip to a city that explicitly asks people not to visit.

It seems like something an eccentric rich person would do as a family outing - good for the mission and good press.

Jason was rather in need of more news appearances. He'd only made two notable headlines since his 'miraculous return' - to the public eye, at least - and keeping his head down now that people knew he was back would only lead to more questions.

Half-hearted as he was about it, Jason agreed.

Dp x Dc prompt

Amity Parkers stare (slightly) hostile at any outsider that walks into their city

(it's theirs and strangers just keep walking in)

This inclides Tim when he and Jason have to go through it / investigate it

Which means the passing glances, resulting in double takes and surprised staring are weirding jason really out

It's like he passes as one of their own at first glance

(the green in his veins sings at being around community)

[swallowtail-jumper]

Lair review for @darling-dolly-darlene​ ! Thank you for the chest and the scroll!! First little fun fact unrelated to your review: I saw your fr icon and thought that your dragons eyes were somehow the crying cat.png eyes? It took me until I was sending you the CR message to realize that I had just made a mistake sdfghjk

First is SteakNShake! The Name alone is reason to love this dragon, but I love the colors combined with said name. I mean? Ketchup red? a kind of darkened mustard yellow and mayo white? Very good for a burger dragon. And very good with those eyes. I think this is one of the first times I liked the site’s light primal eyes on a dragon.  They just pull it off so well! (And the shirt with those pants definitely lend to the vision of someone behind a high table, waiting for your shake order)

Next is Imaus. I clicked on him because oooooh pretty dragon. The colors are neat, the ghost is subtle, and the combo of the fancy purple set with the tailcoat is a+++

then I read the lore

I am horrified. it’s not that it in’t well-written, because it’s quite the opposite. That the visuals of Iamus assuring people that he will help, essentially in exchange for their lives in a terrifying bargain that people will no doubt still desperately take is gruesome and yet I’m still so intrigued. How many people are onto him? How many times has he had to clean up a witness or two? How many times has he fled only to hear whispers of rumors and have to laugh them away, his pearly whites gleaming in what other people assuming is an uncomfortable smile and not the warning it should be?

[blackscarabfilmz]

This week, we attempt yet another comic review to check in on my OTHER favorite medical show form the 70's!

Support BlackScarabFilmZ on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/blackscarabfilmz

[rtgomerprod]

The Literary Lair: All New Emergency! #1

The Literary Lair: All New Emergency! #1

This week, we attempt yet another comic review to check in on my OTHER favorite medical show form the 70’s!

Support BlackScarabFilmZ on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/blackscarabfilmz

http://www.trylootcrate.com/BlackScarabFilmZ

Code: bridge10