#judge dredd: a better world

[graphicpolicy]

Explore a A Better World with Judge Dredd

Explore a A Better World with Judge Dredd #comics #comicbooks #judgedredd

It’s the story which shocked readers and changed the face of Mega-City One! Judge Dredd: A Better World is available now for pre-order in both standard edition paperback and webshop-exclusive hardback editions. Don’t miss out on your chance to own the critically acclaimed modern classic which left readers gasping! A Better World is a modern Judge Dredd classic, a powerful story focusing on a…

[phantomoftheshoppera]

Disco Elysium, 2019, ZA/UM.

‘Judge Dredd: A Better World 06’, by Rob Williams & Arthur Wyatt, illustrated by Henry Flint, letters by Annie Parkhouse, 2000AD prog 2369, [Rebellion, February 2024].

[lonniemachin]

Lonnie Machin/Anarky/Moneyspider: Complete (New Earth) Reading Guide

Who is Lonnie Machin?

Lonnie Machin first entered the post-Crisis DC Universe in 1989 in Detective Comics (1937) Issues #608-609, written by Alan Grant and penciled by Norm Breyfogle. Inspired by the likes of V from Alan Moore's V for Vendetta and Chopper from Judge Dredd, Lonnie would become a relative thorn in the bourgeoisie (and Batman)'s side as the vigilante Anarky, the self-proclaimed 'voice of the people', until 2009. An impassioned young idealist and genius hacker/engineer, Lonnie would often be referred to as an 'anti-villain' by writers and fans alike - though he would remain outside of Batman's general rogues gallery, caring about making Gotham and the world as a whole a better place for the common man.

He would go on to star in two solo series, team up twice with Oliver Queen's Green Arrow, and eventually come to aid Tim Drake (as Red Robin) under the previously established hacker alias 'Moneyspider' from 2009 until the New 52 reboot in 2011.

What does this guide include?

Linked below is a spreadsheet including most/all of Lonnie Machin's comic appearances from his debut up to the New 52 (plus a few post-reboot recommendations). Sorted chronologically, each row features information such as title date and writer/penciller, which identity/mantle is most prominent in each appearance, personal notes on the contents of each issue, and a section for any content warnings that may need addressed.

Happy reading!

The Guide

[ihatetaxes99]

I've seen so many deconstructions of why BNHA stopped working at some point and I've seen a lot of them focusing on the somewhat iffy ethical implications.

Since the series is more or less over now, though, I think my biggest issue with it was that it stopped being fun. I don't really care if a series has questionable ethics or what have you. Hellsing is one of my favourite manga, and its protagonist spends the whole time slaughtering fools, many of them innocent. It almost makes a joke out of the idea that Alucard would ever consider any form of introspection and any time he even touches upon such thoughts, he quickly resumes blasting people's heads off with his handcannon. The series is dumb fun at the end of the day, and the protagonists basically get away with the awful things they've done, not as some sort of critique of society, but because vampires with big guns are cool, and everything about Hellsing is based on being cool.

BNHA's problem, conversely, is that it wants to have its cake and eat it too. It will divert entire pages to beautifully gory set pieces, characters and factions such as the MLA are based entirely upon how cool their aesthetic is and had to be quickly sidelined once they turned out to be way too powerful for the story they're in. It, much like Hellsing, has very limited thought put into the implications of its world and the characters' actions. Unlike Hellsing, however, it does make a half-hearted attempt at addressing them. The nature of child soldiers, the commercialisation of heroism, systemic abuse, all of this posturing about society's outcasts. It raises all of these questions and then limply dismisses them so that Shigaraki can go back to American History Xing people's heads into curb stones, and so that the heroes can rise up to this head-stomping and put an end to it. The audience kind of has to forget that the series itself has addressed the major issues underlying hero society, as best seen in how Endeavour flip flops from antagonist to protagonist depending on if the situation involves fighting bad guys or not. Quieter arcs like the sports festival and... Well, his own arc try to paint him as an extremely conflicted, broken man who tore his family apart, but as soon as there's a villain to fight, he returns to being Stock Good Guy #14, Subsection H: Slightly Gruff.

BNHA for a long time has wanted to be both introspective and dumb fun. I'd say that in its early years, it did a much better job of sticking to the latter, and it kept its satire in the background in a very Judge Dredd fashion. There's nothing wrong with being dumb fun, or with being a more introspective and deep series, but trying to be both is a fine tightrope to walk and ultimately, the manga just couldn't stick that balance.

Tl;Dr, I don't care if a piece of fiction is morally irresponsible or whatever, but the problem is when you half-ass trying to be something more aware and conscious, pardon my language.

[cheapsweets]

The garrulous Slagzogg

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge from @maniculum

A little rough this week, but wanted to get it out there (perfect is the enemy of good :p).

Jinhao shark fountain pen with fine, hooded nib, with Monteverde Raven Noir ink, over initial 5.6mm HB pencil sketch.

Process and resoning notes below the cut...

"The Slagzogg marks the watches of the night by its constant cry. No other creature picks up the scent of man as it does.  There are two kinds of Slagzoggs, domestic and wild. Wild Slagzoggs fly high, in a an orderly fashion, signifying those who, far away from earthly things, preserve a rule of virtuous conduct. Domestic Slagzoggs live together in villages, they cackle together all the time and rend each other with their beaks; they signify those who, although they like conventual life, nevertheless find time to gossip and slander. All wild Slagzoggs are grey in colour; I have not seen any that were of mixed colour or white. But among domestic Slagzoggs, there are not only grey but variegated and white ones. Wild Slagzoggs are the colour of ashes, that is to say, those who keep apart from this world wear the modest garb of penitence."

Okay, we know they fly. We know they have beaks. Hence, it's pretty obvious what kind of creature this is...

A pterosaur! Er... Well, there's no mention of feathers (which is probably reasonable...), perhaps I'm just tickled by the thought of medieval domesticated pterosaurs? I probably spent way too much time trying to draw a wattle fence, too. We have a farmer feeding her flock of domesticated miniature azhdarchid pterosaurs, while a few wild slagzoggs fly high overhead, looking down on their cousins below.

I went with azhdarchid pterosaurs since I felt that would be more visually distictive, and fit better in the picture given their more upright and distinctive method of locomotion on the ground. I also love the idea of a slagzogg 'village' cackling (like the one spreading its wings on top of the fence), clacking beaks, preening themselves, and generally making noise!

We also know that 'no other creature picks up the scent of man' as well as the slagzogg... We do know at this point that the bestiary authors love their superlatives almost as much as Pokedex descriptions, but we have no reason to doubt it. So, looking at modern archosaurs with a great sense of smell... Apparently, crocodiles actually have a fairly good sense of smell, but we're looking at birds to work out how best to represent this in a creature with a beak. Now kiwis have nostrils at the end of the beak, vultures also have a great sense of smell (though they completely slipped my mind until I was most of the way through), which left me with petrels... Petrels are diving seabirds with a distinctive 'tubenose' (their nostrils form a tubular nasal passage atop the beak), and use their sense of smell to detect prey (and their colonies) at sea. It's definitely a distinctive look!

What do they use their great sense of smell for (apart from identifying their keepers, one assumes)? Maybe these are truffle hunting pterosaurs? ;)

Actually, my first thought on reading the description was the dog vultures from the Judge Dredd comics (unfortunately I can't find any pictures online), until I re-read the description and noticed the reference to beaks!

This all raises an interesting question about how I (we? I don't want to assume too much) approach these challenges.

I feel like most of the time, I'm trying very hard to approach the prompts with a completely open mind; in many ways, a lot of the fun of these challenges is seeing what designs we come up with compared to the bestiary illustrators, given the same prompts.

Occasionally I'll have a pretty good idea what the creature is meant to be, in which case I will sometimes exercise a form of 'malicious compliance' where I'm either sticking as closely as possible to the description, or more rarely pursuing a parallel direction that I know is not the 'correct' one, in order to avoid drawing anything too close to the animal I believe the prompt is referencing.

Most rarely, I just have a cool idea from the prompt (like the Blisheag) and head off in that direction instead.

Guess which one this is :D

So what I'm also learning here is that I need more practice drawing humans, and drawing pterosaurs!

As an aside, this week I discovered this site;

It's basically a giant repository of links to various images and sites relating to medieval life and culture (so for example, I looked up the links for straw hats to get some medieval straw hat references this week...). There's so many links in here that some of them will inevitably have moved or expired, but it's potentially a really good source of references! I was able to find this image (partway through drafting the drawing) that I ended up taking heavy influence from;

[judgeanon]

On the subject of Dredd lore, there's other mega cities with their own judge system. Which do you think would be the least worst system to live on?

According to canon, the best place to be in Dredd's world is Oz, formerly Australia. Chill atmosphere, cool judges, not a lot of crime and just a regular good ol' time. Of course, they are surrounded by the Radback, which is the Outback but worse, and they had been besieged by zombie hordes and atomic storms before, but other than that it's fun times all around.

Runner-ups would be Murphyville/Emerald Isle (more or less like Oz but with more potatoes) and Brit-Cit (depressing hellhole, much like current London, but I get the feeling it's one of those places where you can have a nice life if you keep your head down). Other places may be better, but we haven't heard enough about 'em to tell.

[sunbeamstress]

i jumped on the Walking Dead train really late, but i got to finish the show with the fans and i thought it was excellent. it also marks the second or third time i've binged a piece of acclaimed media that became noteworthy for fucking over its fans - the last time was when i beat the mass effect trilogy, a decade late. i thought that was excellent too.

of course it's a lot easier when the game you're playing already has the patched-in ending option and all its DLC, and walking dead was definitely easier to get through since when season 5 ended, i could go right into season 6 without The Cliffhanger

it's clear that the show i watched wasn't the show that AMC presented. scrubbed of its social media gaffes and godawful pacing, it was honestly a thrill ride. it takes a little time to stumble its way through the first two seasons, and the third is definitely more of a slow burn of dread, but if you can punch your way through those you're rewarded with a tense thriller that rarely wastes its time - every scene demands your attention and reveals something new. the moment my life settles down again i want to binge-watch it all over again with a friend.

in my early/mid twenties, i'd fallen in love with an artsy little tech-fetishist webcomic about a few kids struggling to avert the end of the world. you might have heard of it, it was called Homestuck. it would go on to balloon into a very different sort of work from the one it began (i miss the Amiga graphics and quotes from poets/novelists), but also it was the first time i looked around to realize i was in the middle of a fandom. and in those days it wasn't a lovely sight.

my problem was i hadn't been inoculated against this sort of thing yet. from the moment i discovered the MSPA forums, it was impossible for me to experience homestuck without also crossing over to get a life feed of how the fans were enjoying it, and that was uhh, complicated. i have a lot i could say about Andrew Hussie as a creator and maybe one day he'll get his very own rambling not-quite-essay from me, but i maintain that i didn't get to enjoy Homestuck the way it deserved because i am the sort of person whose opinions can be influenced by others. you are too, don't judge.

i hold fast to my conviction that the best way to enjoy something is to enjoy it pure and alone, or with at most perhaps two friends whose tastes you can trust. all too often i've seen people try to make it through the walking dead, or better call saul, or mass effect, or homestuck, or anything, while tapped into the overwhelming torrent of fandom opinion.

it actually makes things worse.

as the internet is fond of saying: the walking dead was a hell of a lot better without a bitch in my ear telling me it sucked.

there's a lot to say about how they reused the same ol' same ol' plot: zombos force the crew to move, they get settled in, then they solve some zombo-related problems until the newest batch of Desperate And/Or Corrupt And/Or Treacherous Humans comes to prove that actually we were the monsters all along

except it's fucking dope? they bare-knuckle brawl a shitload of walkers in a prison and take it over? and then they fight a war with the neighboring town??

Terminus, to me, is a singular point in the show that stands out in my mind. it was the moment i was like "oh shit. i think actually like this show." nevermind the way they began cranking up the horror factor (watching them slit that guy's throat in the horse trough was wild), but then Carol shows up and fucking Judge Dredds the place?

and then we see Rick turn from do-gooder cop to feral den mother who is willing to rip a guy's throat out and fjksdhgfjkhgjkhg oh my GOD how did you people not like this show

and then:

it was genuinely incredible watching Rick's role in the universe transform. we see him as an agent who is only ever acted upon: first by the emergence of walkers, then by a revolving door of people he can't trust, people he shouldn't trust but does, and people who have a funny way of doing the right thing just when you expect them to fail you the most.

but it's no way to live a life after the world has ended, and he has to get tough. his role changes, quite quickly, from agent to actor, and now he is the one with the control. he's the one sniffing out your bullshit, doing that unhinged lupine head-cock of his, and sending you to hell at the end of a colt python.

maybe if i was a man, i'd feel a little of what the fans seemed to have felt when Negan showed up. maybe i would have put myself in Rick's place, and found a little vicarious pleasure in the feeling of being a respected leader, building a new home with my bare hands; maybe i would have experienced disappointment or defeat or whatever the moment a bigger guy with a bigger gun shows up.

but what i saw was a hornet's nest being stirred; the natural reaction of a world much bigger than you just when you've begun to think you might control some of it. negan wasn't some Bigger Guy, he was a symbol, a walking metaphor for how things are always going to go when men like rick try to purchase peace with violence. if it wasn't Negan it was going to be someone else. i adamantly believe the fans hated negan because negan was holding up a mirror to them.

when i go on about this show, i genuinely do love all of it (even the nightmarishly slow seasons 9 and 10), but the images in my head all come from season 5, especially when they raid the hospital back in the city. the walking dead does not disappoint with aesthetics. the sets were phenomenal.

long, dramatic shots of broken chain link fences, sun-baked highways, half-abandoned urban streets with boarded windows and nothing left but graffiti. honestly feels a little like my childhood. i'm an urbex bitch at heart and i never wanted ANYTHING so desperately as the chance to get in there with Carol and Aaron and Maggie et al, and go plumbing the tombs of Atlanta for rocket launchers and medicine.

and while i never want to see backroads or quaint country towns ever again in my life, i won't deny that the backdrops of rural georgia and virginia gave the walking dead a unique visual language, a kind of run-down western vibe that really helped cement the feeling that these were just regular salt-of-the-earth people, forced to do extraordinary things. most of my dreams now usually have the same hickory and pine trees that dotted the countrysides.

i don't really know what i was trying to accomplish when i began this post (it's the only way i know how to write baby!) but to summarize, i fucking loved this show. i genuinely hold it to be one of the seminal works of modern zombie horror and also just an incredibly good survival soap opera about what it means to be alive in a world that has violently rejected you. i'm genuinely glad i gave it a chance and i'm so grateful my brother recommended it to me. i love you, bro.

[cyberpunkonline]

The Most Arch and Evil Corporations in the Cyberpunk Genre

Introduction

In the neon-illuminated, dystopian world of cyberpunk fiction, corporations stand as towering pillars of power and control. More often than not, these conglomerates have transcended mere business entities to become overarching, de facto governments. With unchecked authority, they manipulate, control, and dominate, often at the expense of the general populace. The essence of cyberpunk literature lies in its exploration of the relationship between technology, power, and the individual, with these megacorporations playing a central role in the narrative's bleak backdrop. Let's dive into the most notoriously evil corporations from the annals of cyberpunk's books, anime, films, and TV.

Tyrell Corporation - "Blade Runner" (Film)

Corporate Loon Rating: 9/10

The Tyrell Corporation is the sinister genius behind the creation of "replicants," bioengineered beings virtually indistinguishable from humans. With a motto of "More Human Than Human," the corporation exhibits a God-complex, devaluing human life and treating replicants as disposable commodities. Their exploitation and commoditization of life have led to the very existential crises that underpin the narrative.

Neuromancer's Tessier-Ashpool S.A. - "Neuromancer" (Book)

Corporate Loon Rating: 8/10

Tessier-Ashpool is the shadowy corporation behind the construction of the space-based city Freeside and the powerful Wintermute AI. Their obsessive drive for power, combined with their deeply dysfunctional family dynamics, make them a force to be reckoned with in William Gibson's groundbreaking novel.

Cyberdyne Systems - "Terminator" (Film)

Corporate Loon Rating: 10/10

Arguably one of the most deadly corporations in fiction, Cyberdyne Systems is responsible for creating Skynet, the AI that brings about a machine-led apocalypse. Intent on military dominance, the corporation unknowingly sets the stage for human annihilation.

GeneCo - "Repo! The Genetic Opera" (Film and Play)

Corporate Loon Rating: 7/10

Operating in a world where organ failures are common, GeneCo provides organ transplants at a cost. Fail to meet your payments, and a Repo Man will reclaim the company's property. The line between life, death, and profit has never been so morbidly thin.

Syndicate - "Akira" (Anime and Manga)

Corporate Loon Rating: 8/10

In the post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the government and the military-industrial complex, colloquially known as "the Syndicate," carry out dangerous experiments on children, hoping to harness their psychic abilities for their gain. Their reckless pursuits contribute to the city's ultimate destruction.

OCP (Omni Consumer Products) - "RoboCop" (Film)

Corporate Loon Rating: 9/10

OCP is the mega-corporation with ambitions of rebuilding Detroit as "Delta City". With projects like the ED-209 enforcement droid and the titular RoboCop, OCP’s dubious ethics and ruthless business tactics highlight the blurred lines between policing, corporate interests, and human rights.

Weyland-Yutani Corporation - "Alien" (Film Series)

Corporate Loon Rating: 10/10

The Weyland-Yutani Corporation, with its mantra "Building Better Worlds," is anything but altruistic. Their relentless pursuit of the xenomorph, often at the cost of human lives, speaks to a chilling profit-before-people mindset.

The Zaibatsu Corporations - "Snow Crash" (Book)

Corporate Loon Rating: 8/10

In Neal Stephenson's world, governments have crumbled, replaced by corporate fiefdoms. These zaibatsus, with their monopolistic might and control over swathes of society, embody the potential dangers of corporate supremacy.

Mega-City One's Justice Department - "Judge Dredd" (Comics and Films)

Corporate Loon Rating: 9/10

While not a traditional corporation, the Justice Department's absolute power and their brutal 'judge, jury, and executioner' stance on crime prevention spotlight the dangers of combining corporate efficiency with state control.

Rossum's Universal Robots (R.U.R) - "R.U.R" (Play)

Corporate Loon Rating: 8/10

Originating from Karel Čapek's play, where the word "robot" was first coined, R.U.R is a corporation that produces artificial beings. Their creations eventually rebel, leading to the extinction of humanity, spotlighting the dire consequences of playing god.

Conclusion

Cyberpunk, in its essence, is a cautionary tale of unchecked corporate power and technological advancement devoid of human ethics. These conglomerates serve as a warning, painting a grim picture of a potential future. While these stories are fictional, the allegories they present offer a reflection of our real-world anxieties about the future of corporate dominance. Stay tuned for our next article, where we will delve into the realm of current real-life corporations and their influences on society.

Until then, keep your eyes wide and your tech closer.

- Raz

[dalesramblingsblog]

Brief Thoughts on Judge Dredd Novels, Part VII: The Hundredfold Problem by John Grant

The Hundredfold Problem is in many respects the odd one out when it comes to Virgin's Dredd novels. It's the only book in the series not to be written by an author who went on to cross over to their Doctor Who line, and the only one to later be republished as a standalone novel with the Dredd/2000 AD elements taken out.

As you might expect, it's a rather strange beast of a book. I certainly didn't actively hate reading it, and it rarely outright bored me; in fact, there's an appealing number of appropriately gonzo ideas crammed into the novel's pages, not least of which is the Big Dunkin Donut, a Dyson sphere populated by transported Neanderthals millions of years ago.

As a certified enjoyer of The Also People, I'm always a sucker for Dyson spheres, and Grant captures the BDD in enough detail that it makes for a suitable first off-world excursion for the novels - and, depending on how Silencer and Wetworks shape up, possibly the only such excursion. The culture of the Skysouls is fascinating, and doesn't really feel derivative of the People at all. The exploration of colonialism is perhaps not as elegant as it could be, but it's basically functional. And, well, as far as nineties explorations of a hypothetical "War in Heaven" go, I suppose I've got to give it points for originality in being the only such piece of media where the solution to said War is to get involved in a lesbian polycule with a deity.

So y'know. It's got that going for it?

But equally, there are numerous little things that don't quite annoy, but definitely make for an odd reading experience. Petula McTavish is a reasonably solid character with a good arc, but the way the novel consistently sexualises her left me feeling more than a little uncomfortable.

The exploration of faith - a perennial nineties theme, this being the decade of "I Want to Believe" - through a heated theological conflict between two rival atheist sects named after Oliver North and Margaret Thatcher of all people is an amusing premise, but the decision to give all the preachers comically thick Southern accents really starts to grate after a while, even if it makes sense for 1994 and the era of Pat Robertson's ascendance.

Similarly, the idea of Heidegger's possession by a force opposed to Korax fades completely into the background for much of the novel, rendering its eventual importance to the climax borderline incoherent until the final chapter just relentlessly infodumps to explain everything with a handful of pages left to go.

So ultimately, thinking about it, we're left with a deeply mixed bag. It's more coherent than something like The Medusa Seed - though coherence never seemed to be Stone's primary goal with that book, or arguably ever - and fleshes out its setting better than Dread Dominion, while its ideas are far more adventurous than anything in Cursed Earth Asylum.

And yet, thinking back on it, the various little annoyances really do start to pile up and colour my perception of the book, so I can't really put this above second-last. There's still a pretty sizeable gap between this and The Savage Amusement, as barring the climax it was generally pretty easy to keep track of the plot's motion from point A to point B, though Grant does have a tendency to elide what would seem to be rather crucial details in the timejumps between chapters.

So yeah, ranking so far looks like this:

Dreddlocked

Deathmasques

The Medusa Seed

Dread Dominion

Cursed Earth Asylum

The Hundredfold Problem

The Savage Amusement

[brimbrimbrimbrim]

Brim I'm currently down bad with covid and not feeling too great :( any fic recs to cheer me up (preferably from your works lol)

NOOOOOOOOO. I remeber when I had Covid. You’ll get through this easy peasy, mah dude. Just lots of water, good food, limit stress, and sleeeeeeeeep like a mother fucker. I have no idea what kinda mood you’re in but... here’s some fics that make me feel better. <3

Other peeps awesome fics:

The Dungeon Master and the Drama Club President - Eddie Munson/F!Reader @flamehairedwritings

Sweet Talk - Eddie Munson/F!Reader @apricotpopsicle

The Extra Mile - Charon/F!Reader @apraxvalith​

Party Time - Dorghu/F!Reader

My Mind of Stone - Judge Dredd/Cassandra Anderson

Hey Girl, Are You a Live Stock Farmer? - Leatherface/F!Reader @possumteeths

My awesome fics:

Angels and Demons - Eugene Sims/FOC

A Rose-Scented Miasma Stale Yet Sweet - The Outsider/F!OC

On The Road - Slit/Toast the Knowing

Two Bastards and a Dog - M!Orc/F!Bosmer

Pledge Allegiance to the Red God - Hellboy/F!OC

The Pegging of Wrench - Wrench/F!Reader

Uranium Fever - John Hancock/Nora

The Vampyre Eugene - M!Vampire/F!OC

The End of the World and the Bedframe - Eddie Munson/F!Reader

(If you need anything else, dude, I'll do what I can. Rest up, and this too shall pass. <3)

[atomheartz]

i dislike the rdj casting as dr. doom for many reasons.

like not only did you erase the romani heritage of the character, a part that is so integral to his character and his motivations, but you took a character that wears a mask pretty much 24/7, and you gave the role to a man who has the biggest ego in the world and will probably demand to have the mask off.

and god forbid doom not have any kind of tie to tony stark, or be made into any kind of tony stark variant. i hated that they made mysterio so dependent on stark. i hated how peter became so dependent on stark. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON.

this is such a side note but like this is why people liked karl urban's judge dredd as much as they did. he understood that dredd didn't remove the helmet, you didn't know who dredd was.

people have put together much better twitter threads and carefully explained their thoughts better than i can, but also it's gross how much money he's making from this too. you already made your tens of millions as tony stark, like if you're gonna whitewash a character, fucking do it for free you disrespectful douche

[comiccrusaders]

Judge Dredd: A Better World Now Available for Pre-Order! @2000AD #Rebellion #comics #comicbooks https://ow.ly/QoBN50SlF61

[comicbuzzofficial]

Judge Dredd: A Better World Now Available for Pre-Order

[downthetubes]

Rebellion Release: Judge Dredd’s powerful tale “A Better World”, bundled!

Before we give you the intel on new Rebellion releases this week, a quick heads up that 2000AD’s latest Judge Dredd adventure, “A Better World”, is currently available in one print or digital bundle

Before we give you the intel on new Rebellion releases this week, a quick heads up that 2000AD’s latest Judge Dredd adventure, “A Better World”, a story that’s shocked readers, shaken Dredd’s world and set up some threads for dangers to come is currently available in one print or digital bundle. Reflecting contemporary issues around “defunding the police”, writers Rob Williams and Arthur Wyatt,…

[shree3redranger]

Vandal Savage, King Kull, Ra’s al Ghul Lex Luthor, Alexander Luthor Sr/Jr./Mazahs/Alexis/Alexandra Megistus Aqua-Mariner, Amalgam Namor, Aquaman 1,000,000 and Dead KingAtlan/Sea King/Arion/Thanatos/Kordax/The Thirst; Ocean Master Black Manta Astarte/Veronica Cale Theana, Paula/Gerta von Gunther, Bruna-Brunhilde, Gudra/Gundra, Deva, Dark Angel, Grail (Barda/Bekka/Maxima), Queen of Fables, Crow Children Gargareans, Mythlands-Cosmopolitan, Multiethnic/Omniethnic Black Adam/Sivana (scientifically copy Shazam's magic lightning), Osiris, Neron, Despero Red King Berceuse Armies of Sand(wo)men/Dr. Destinies/Red Kings Insect Queen Bee Symbeasts Wonder Woman kicks Batman's butt every time they fight because that's what happens when a normal person goes against a super of that caliber with no kryptonite factor, of course they also have similar tactical mindsets or at least fighting skills and with her superior abilities she obviously has the advantage, she will use diplomacy before resulting to violence and even lethal force if absolutely necessary, she is more powerful than Superman and has better gadgets than Batman Supes has a job and a boss, Bats has a butler and is the boss of one of the world's largest corporations, Supes may have his fortress of alien tech, Bats has even more cool stuff, Supes pines for one woman, Bats has a harem of fetish femmefatales who pine for him You can only call Waller a villain in that she'll sacrifice the one for the many, she has a moral line and whether you agree with her or not it does not move, she's made Bats back down and acknowledge she has a point the CSA the Justice Lords Antimatter Earth-3 Pocket Dimension Alexander Luthor/Mazahs/Doc Savage/Edison Rex/Axel Brass (Century Babies)/Xanatos (copy Ultimate Archmage familiar Stee/Iron Clan/Thailog shock troops)/Hank Scorpio/Oliver Warbucks-self-made man, never lost the common touch and never forgot where he came from, felt strongly that business owners had a responsibility to treat their employees fairly and had an equally great hatred of corruption I always imagined nanotech like Spawn or the Darklings, Matrix, Satin Satan Girl, Nighflame, Scorch/Fernus (succubi/nymphs) , Belinda Zee, Supra/Ultra/Ubergirl, Superior Girl, Divine, Nuclear Men, Bizarros-stronger, Smarter, faster, tougher, better looking than Supes, Ms. Gsptlsnz, OMACS, Warsuits Luthor's power armor, Havokoids, Warmaker 1s, Alphina Brainiacs Indigo, enhanced Doomsday clones (Steel/Cyborg Superman/Eradicator, Tactile TK), Doomslayer, Superdoom, World Killers, Paragon, Vartox, Amazo Rao's familiars- Flamebird and Nightwing Angelus Warriors: combined Shadowflamewing/Imperium of Mankind Double psyber Eagle egg/sunstone; Rao (god of the sun), Cythonna (goddess of ice) Yuda (goddess of the moon), Telle (god of wisdom), Mordo (god of strength), and Lorra (goddess of beauty) Familiars- Wolves, Scratch-9-Gyrinx-Sabretooth/Witch familiar/pharaoh-Alley-Kat-Abra (Sleen),Ravens (American Eagle), Monkey, Winged Unicorn, Gryphon, (Black, White, Gray, Rainbow) Phoenix, Phaethon and Savitar, the sun dogs (dragons-insect to cat to Kaiju sized)- born out of Solaris' own nuclear furnace, and heir to his hydrogen-fueled power and fury Octus, the eight-dimensional cephalopod - from the bottom of the seas of neptune. While it is impossible for creatures limited to a three-dimensional perception of the universe to fully understand his powers, his weird limpet grenades have proven to be most effective weapons. Wormhole - unfathomable denizens of the black gulfs between stars, with the ability to bend space and time to his command Flashpoint/Epsilon: Magog, Tokyo Rose- Mystic martial arts (Darklings from Darkness (as well as symbiote/Super-Adaptoid/Demogoglin) like giant robots and monsters like Kaiju as well as cyborg demonic ninjas and Samurais/Huntsclan/Snake Eyes, Mirabai, Manotaur, XXX like 666-Judge Dread-Judge Dredd and Death/Mortis, NIL-8, Americommando-Major Glory Stormwatch/Meritocracy/Protectorate: Mr. Majestic, Midnighter, Century Babies amalgam-Doc Savage, Jenny Quarx-Mystechnician, King of Cities/Wyld, John Lynch/TAO Prime/Elven Manchester Black-Telekinesis telepathy, symbiote/symbeast(s)-(Darkness/Angelus/Witchblade/Spawn), magic club, magic hat from which can pull anything; Manchester Black Americanitis John Smith- shirt with American flag and baseball bat-Shine/Bright Knight-Shade, Angelus etc Billy Butcher; Good Homelander/Major Glory-The Boys coat etc., Becky Butcher, Greg D. Mallory, Tommy Monaghan- Ace of Winchesters, Jesse Custer-Preacher, Max Damage Buck “Buffaloman” Storm- modern/future mystic Pecos Bill lasers/Super Chief/Black Bison/Flying Fox/Manitou Raven/Silver Deer/(Winged Bison belt like winged golden ram fleece-Olympian-flocks/herds of buffalotaurs)Forge/Black Condor/Nightwolf/Chief Thunder/Turok/Bravestarr/Blackstar Rodeo Paladin alternative Batman cowboy Punisher/spliced with Terraman/Deadshot/Jonah Hex/King Faraday/Slam Bradley/Tommy Monaghan/Terry Sloan/Matches Malone/Lefty Knox Thrax Von Brighthammer- Brighthammer Living Saint/Sage Illuminatus Inquisitor/Rogue Trader Dirk Torch-Axel Brass (Century Babies/Mystechnician)/Oliver Warbucks/Richard Henry Benson Dollarmation Starcloak Bruno Godkiller- Thundragoria, Neo-Primordia-life began on Earth avoid White Martians' ancient experiments so like Kryptonians plus inherit white plasma on par with Starheart/Shazam's magic lightning, Vartox/Amazo/Paragon I ship Tim and Steph, Cassandra Cain with Connor Hawke Damian with Lian Sin or age appropriate Carrie Kelly David gave Cass plenty of emotional support and positive reinforcement however shooting her until she learned to get out of the way and preventing her from learning language so that segment of her brain would read bodies instead qualify as abuse under any definition imaginable Of course Bruce can go from paternal figure second only to Jonathan Kent himself to a monster who does things like lock Dick in the Batcave and force him catch and eat rats to survive in three issues depending on who's writing him On the other hand men like him don't define the world in terms of right and wrong but strong and weak he made Cassandra strong thus to some extent he's a decent human being Slade's wife Adeline Kane may be Bruce's cousin, Kathy Kane of Spyral, Kate Kane new Batwoman wealthy military family one of Gotham's founding families along with Waynes, Elliots, and Cobblepots, Powers Thorne/Falcone/Maroni/Blockbuster/Cobblepot/Manheim I imagine Jonathan Kent like Hub McCann from Secondhand Lions can take on four guys a quarter of his age, unarmed and still beat them "I'm Hub McCann. I've fought in two World Wars and countless smaller ones on three continents. I led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I've seen the headwaters of the Nile, and tribes of natives no white man had ever seen before. I've won and lost a dozen fortunes, KILLED MANY MEN and loved only one woman with a passion a FLEA like you could never begin to understand. That's who I am. NOW, GO HOME, BOY!" Lori Luthor Simon Valentine Darklings-symbiotes/Super-Adaptoids/Demogoblin Asteroid M(s)-Krakoa mysterium- Savageland(s) Danger (Zero-Techno-organic-Technoarchy Phalanx Barbuda Builders Most of the heroes consider Fury a good guy because the thought of him being a villain is too terrifying you will never be as bada$$ as this World War II vet from New York's Hell's Kitchen Fury started fighting the Nazis with his band of brothers the Howling Commandos first before moving onto more esoteric foes of humanity It was sometime between moving to work for the CIA and fighting a hate-ray powered clone of Adolf Hitler alongside a walking pile of rocks that Fury realized that when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. And thus has followed a several decade long Crowning Moment Of Awesome Why he is cooler than you will ever be: He has a Flying Car, he parks this Flying Car in his Flying Base filled with Life Model Decoys and psychic spies, he's fought radioactive robots in space, he's chased a warlord to another dimension to fight psychic duels with his literal Eyepatch of Power, he's hunted Godzilla he is a Badass Normal feared by Nigh Invulnerable beings, he is feared by Nigh Invulnerable beings because he has demonstrated the "nigh" portion by killing several, he never looks at explosions, he does, however ride motorcycles through explosions while shirtless and Dual Wielding Laser Pistols, he is literally ageless, he once willingly turned himself into an Eldritch Abomination to save reality, he's beaten up Adolf Hitler on more than one occasion Captain America Cyclops and Black Panther are Marvel's Batmen Bats even says Cap would be beat him though it would take a long time Master of the World, Leader/Maestro, Kang Doctor Doom White Wolf/Man-Ape/Killmonger (K'Liluna), Mandarin Baron Mordo Demonicus, Tomi Shishido-The Hand, Apocalypse- Weapon Infinity/Super Skrulls all cool X-Men villains, Azazel Selene Sebastian Shaw Sinister,clones of Madelyn Pryor (Goblyn Queen) (Karasu and Sojobo-Tengu) Margali Szardos Amanda Sefton (Scarlet Witch Storm and Agatha Harkness are Earth's High Priestess together,Homo novissima Sublime/Arkea, Cassandra Nova Neo, Children of the Vault, Romulus Onslaught Pandemic Vargas High Evolutionary Kingpin- The Owl/Count Nefaria/Mr. Negative/The Hood HydraCap- Wolfgang von Strucker/Zemo/Viper, Hive/Kraken/Scorpio- Nick Fury's clones Master Man/Warrior Woman/Baron Blood Bricklemoore twins Maybe Dracula Vampire Kingdom on the Moon Drakulon Arkon Foreigner Sentry/Taskmaster super soldier serum The Celestials are why we have mutants and other things don't just kill humans but sometimes give them powers, they made the Eternals also Namor- He's a mutant as well why he has wings on his ankles Atlantis Pietro-Crystal-Attilan-Inhumans- take command of Kree Intergalactic Empire Charles Xavier-Lilandra- Command of Shi'ar Intergalactic Empire (Kid Omega/Zen Gunnery) Storm-Black Panther-Wakanda (Techno Organic Jungle Intergalactic Empire) Monster Island- Archipelagos off Japan and Bermuda Triangle connect through vast passageways all across the earth through the Earth hordes of giant monsters commanded by Mole Man

[bookclub4m]

Episode 131 - Cyberpunk

This episode we’re talking about Cyberpunk fiction! We discuss the aesthetics of neon and grime, cultural fears and xenophobia, techno-pessimism, survival and revolution, noir fiction, and more! Plus: When cybernetic implants meet body horror!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott

Dreamships by Melissa Scott

Cyber World: Tales of Humanity's Tomorrow edited by Jason Heller & Joshua Viola

SP4RX by Wren McDonald

Imago by Tristan Alice Nieto

Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers edited by Cat Fitzpatrick

Pay-what-you-can version of the ebook

Samurai 8: La légende de Hachimaru, Tome 1 by Masashi Kishimoto and Akira Okubo

Other Media We Mentioned

Max Headroom (Wikipedia)

Judge Dredd (Wikipedia)

2001: A Space Odyssey (film) (Wikipedia)

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson

Blade Runner (Wikipedia)

The Matrix (Wikipedia)

Existenz (Wikipedia) 

Hackers (film) (Wikipedia)

The Terminator (Wikipedia)

Akira (1988 film) (Wikipedia)

Ghost in the Shell (1995 film) (Wikipedia)

The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow by Cory Doctorow

Feed by MT Anderson

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Serial Experiments Lain (Wikipedia)

Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson

Shadowrun (Wikipedia)

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Episode 082b - Bonus *Punk Fiction Spreadsheet Discussion

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

Black Mirror (Wikipedia)

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz 

The Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken 

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi

Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology edited by Bruce Sterling

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

The Girl Who Was Plugged In by James Tiptree Jr.

Links, Articles, and Things

20 Minutes into the Future (TV Tropes)

Tech noir (Wikipedia)

The Future Is Noir (TV Tropes)

Japan Takes Over the World (TV Tropes)

Lost Decades (Japan) (Wikipedia)

Orientalism, 'Cyberpunk 2077,' and Yellow Peril in Science Fiction

Fear of a Yellow Planet: Why We Need to Actually Understand Cyberpunk

33 Best Cyberpunk Books of All-Time (2021)

Cyberpunk derivatives (Wikipedia)

Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics (Wikipedia)

"A Better World is Possible" - Cyberpunk 2077 (Waypoint Radio: Episode 365)

LexisNexis (Wikipedia)

Anna’s tweet about messaging Matthew

Leet (Wikipedia)

Manic Pixie Dream Girl (Wikipedia)

Cybernetics Eat Your Soul (TV Tropes)

Ecofiction (Wikipedia)

17 Cyberpunk books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Rise of the Red Hand by Olivia Chadha

Runtime by S.B. Divya

The Regional Office is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai

Warcross by Marie Lu

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Neon Empire by Drew Minh

Nexus by Ramez Naam

Red Spider White Web by Misha Nogha

Infomocracy by Malka Older

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo

Want by Cindy Pon

Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow

Rosewater by Tad Thompson

Robocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

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Join us again on Tuesday, August 18th we’ll be talking about media we’ve recently enjoyed not related to the podcast!

Then on Tuesday, September 7th we’ll be talking about the format of Flash Fiction.