#kelly puckett

[dailycass-cain]

Shadow of the Batgirl

Batgirl Vol. 1 #25

It's Cassandra Cain day! So for my first blog of today, I'd like you all to post some of your favorite moments with her, or just tell me in general why you like her. ^_^

WE MUST CELEBRATE THE GREMLIN!

[argoscity]

ULTIMATE SUPERGIRL READING GUIDE

since i've been asked a few times in the past for various reading guides for kara, i thought i'd compile them all into one post for the sake of convenience!

this guide has reading orders for supergirl comics in PRE-CRISIS (1959-1985), POST-CRISIS (2004-2011), NEW 52 (2011-2016), REBIRTH (2016-2021), and INFINITE FRONTIER (2021-present).

if you have any questions at all don't be afraid to shoot me an ask!

for each section bolded comics are required, italicized comics are recommended, and everything else is optional!

[PRE-CRISIS]

ORIGIN AND MIDVALE ERA (NOTE: you'll have to flip to the back of each issue to get to kara's section!) action comics (1938) #252, 258, 267, 276, 278-282, 285, 295, 309-310, 313, 317

STANHOPE COLLEGE action comics (1938) #318, 366-368, 372, 374 world’s finest (1941) #169 adventure comics (1938) #381, 386, 391, 395, 397

K-SFTV REPORTER — SAN FRANCISCO adventure comics (1938) #406-407, 410-415, 419-424

VANDYRE UNIVERSITY supergirl (1974) #1-10

STUDENT ADVISOR — FLORIDA (NOTE: every member of the superfamily has a story in the superman family (1974), so you'll have to flip through to find kara's section!) the superman family (1974) #165, 168, 171, 174, 177, 180, 182 justice league of america (1960) #132-134 the superman family #183, 184-186, 187-189, 191-193, 194, 196-198, 199, 200, 201-202, 203, 204-205, 206-207

ACTRESS — NEW YORK the superman family (1974) 208-210, 211-214, 215-216, 217, 218 superman (1939) #373 (second story titled “an eye (and ear) on the world!”) detective comics (1937) #508-510 the superman family #219-222

THE GREAT DARKNESS SAGA (i recommend this storyline in it's entirety, but kara only appears in the last issue!) legion of superheroes (1980) #290-294

LAKE SHORE UNIVERSITY supergirl (1982) #1-12 (cw: nazi imagery in the brief interlude in #12)  supergirl (1982) #13-15 (cw: antisemitism, nazi imagery, depictions of the holocaust.) supergirl (1982) #16-23

LAST APPEARANCES AND DEATH legion of super-heroes (1980) #300-303 dc comics presents (1978) #28 tales of the legion of super-heroes (1984) #314-315 crisis on infinite earths (1985) #4-7

BONUS POST-COIE APPEARANCES christmas with the super-heroes (1988) #2 (last story titled “should auld acquaintance be forgot”) supergirl (1996) #49, 75-80 solo (2004) #1 (third story titled “young love”) convergence: adventures of superman (2015) #1-2

[POST-CRISIS]

ORIGIN superman/batman (2003) #8-13  (or you can watch superman/batman: apocalypse (2010) instead which I recommend! the art is a lot more tasteful and it's a very faithful adaptation of the comic so you won’t be missing out on anything.)

KARA WITH THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES supergirl and the legion of super-heroes (2006) #16-36

LOEB AND KELLY HELL ERA supergirl (2005) #1-5, 9-10, 19 (you don’t have to read any of this since it gets retconned anyway, but if you’re interested in kara’s early characterization, the beginnings of her friendship with cassie sandsmark, or her difficulty fitting in on earth then you’re welcome to read what i’ve provided.)

KELLEY PUCKETT ERA Amazons Attack! teen titans (2003) #47-48  amazons attack! (2007) #3  supergirl (2005) #20  amazons attack! (2007) #4  teen titans (2003) #49

supergirl (2005) #21-22  teen titans (2003) #50, 51-55  supergirl (2005) #25-33

Superman: Brainiac  action comics (1938) #866-870

GATES AND IGLE HEAVEN ERA supergirl (2005) #34

New Krypton (new krypton is one of my favorite events and i recommend it in its entirety, but for the sake of brevity I’ll only be listing the issues relevant to kara.) superman: new krypton special #1  superman (1939) #681  adventure comics special featuring guardian #1  action comics (1938) #871  supergirl (2005) #35  superman (1939) #682  action comics (1938) #872  supergirl (2005) #36  superman (1939) #683  action comics (1938) #873

teen titans (2003) #66  supergirl (2005) #37-42

Friends and Fugitives superman: secret Files 2009 #1  supergirl (2005) #43  action comics (1938) #881  supergirl (2005) #45  action comics (1938) #882  supergirl (2005) #46-47

supergirl (2005) annual 1, #48-50

Last Stand of New Krypton  adventure comics (2009) #8  superman: last stand of new krypton #1  supergirl (2005) #51  superman (1938) #698  adventure comics (2009) #9  superman: last stand of new krypton #2  adventure comics (2009) #10  supergirl (2005) #52  superman (1938) #699  superman: last stand of new krypton #3 superman: war of the supermen (2010) #0, 1-4 

supergirl (2005) #53-57, annual 2, 58-59

END OF SUPERGIRL VOL 5 supergirl (2005) #60-64 supergirl (2005) #65-67

[THE NEW 52]

ORIGIN and SUPERGIRL VS THE WORLDKILLERS supergirl (2011) #1-7

SUPERGIRL and SILVER BANSHEE supergirl (2011) #8-11

SUPERGIRL and SUPERBOY superboy (2011) #6

SANCTUARY supergirl (2011) #12, 0, 13

H’EL ON EARTH superman (2011) #13 supergirl (2011) #14 superman (2011) #14 superboy (2011) #15 supergirl (2011) #15 superboy (2011) #16 superboy (2011) Annual #1 supergirl (2011) #16 superman (2011) #16 superboy (2011) #17 supergirl (2011) #17 superman (2011) #17

SUPERGIRL and POWERGIRL supergirl (2011) #18-20

CYBORG SUPERMAN supergirl (2011) #21-23 action comics (2011) #23.1 supergirl (2011) #24

KRYPTON RETURNS action comics (2011) annual #2 superboy (2011) #25 supergirl (2011) #25 superman (2011) #25

SUPERGIRL VS LOBO supergirl (2011) #26-27

RED DAUGHTER OF KRYPTON supergirl (2011) #28-29 red lanterns (2011) #28-29 supergirl (2011) #30 red lanterns (2011) #30 supergirl (2011) #31 red lanterns (2011) #31-32 supergirl (2011) #32-33

SUPERMAN: DOOMED (this is a whole storyline but I'll only be listing the issues that kara appears in!) superman/wonder woman (2013) #9 action comics (2011) #33 supergirl (2011) #34 superman: doomed (2014) #2 action comics (2011) #35 supergirl (2011) #35

FUTURES END supergirl: futures end (2014) #1

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED justice league united (2014) #1-5 justice league united (2014) annual #1 justice league united (2014) #6-10

CRUCIBLE supergirl (2011) #36-40

FINAL DAYS OF SUPERMAN (kara only appears in the issues i've italicized and bolded, but i put all the relevant issues if you wanted to read the full storyline!) superman (2011) #51 batman/superman (2013) #31 action comics (2011) #51 superman/wonder woman (2013) #28 batman/superman (2013) #32 action comics (2011) #52 superman/wonder woman (2013) #29 superman (2011) #52

[REBIRTH]

KARA IN NATIONAL CITY supergirl: rebirth #1

supergirl (2016) #1-8 batgirl (2016) annual 1 supergirl #9-12

supergirl (2016) annual 1supergirl #13-20

world's finest: batwoman and supergirl #1-2

ROGOL ZAAR and THE SINS OF THE CIRCLE the man of steel #1-2, 3-6 supergirl #21-33, #34-36

LEVIATHAN and BATMAN WHO LAUGHS superman: leviathan rising special #1 supergirl #34-36 supergirl (2016) annual 2 supergirl #37-42

HOUSE OF KENT action comics (2016) #1022-1023 action comics (2016) #1024-1028

FUTURE STATE superman of metropolis (2021) #1-2 kara zor el, superwoman (2021) #1-2

[INFINITE FRONTIER]

action comics 2021 annual

WOMAN OF TOMORROW supergirl: woman of tomorrow (2021) #1-8

WORLD'S FINEST batman/superman: world's finest (2022) #2-6, 8, 12

A WORLD WITHOUT CLARK KENT and RED MOON (kara is featured in the back-up story! if you want the full context of this plot i recommend reading the full warworld arc in action comics [action comics #1030-1046, superman: warworld apocalypse #1]!) action comics (2016) #1044-1046, 1047-1049

DAWN OF DC action comics (2016) #1051-1053, 1055-1056 superman (2023) #1-3 power girl special #1 steelworks (2023) #1-3

KNIGHT TERRORS knight terrors: superman (2023) #1-2

DAWN OF DC (continued) action comics: doomsday special (2023) superman (2023) #7 hawkgirl (2023) #4 supergirl special (2023)

NEW WORLDS [this arc starts on action comics #1057—kara doesn't appear in that issue but I recommend reading it for context!] action comics (2016) #1058-1060 action comics 2023 annual

JOURNEY TO FERIMBIA powergirl (2023) #5, 6-7

HOUSE OF BRAINIAC action comics (2016) #1064 superman (2023) #13 action comics (2016) #1065 superman (2023) #14 action comics (2016) #1066 superman (2023) #15

UNIVERSE END action comics (2016) #1070-1081

MISCELLANEOUS RECENT APPEARANCES: superwoman special #1 superman (2023) #21-22

[blackbatcass]

hii linden! i kinda needed some help

so, i wanna read some comics based on:

donna troy, cass cain and wally west

but i have literally noo idea where to start 😭 ofc ik the basics but i was hoping you could suggest something?? thank you so much if you do and have a wonderful day!

yeah i gotchu!! those are literally my besties lol i can definitely give you some recs. i'm not sure what you'd consider to be the basics so i'll just include all the big stuff to be thorough

donna troy:

first rec is always new teen titans as you probably would have guessed lol. it is a very long and arduous undertaking though so some more specific recs would be vol. 1 #38, #50, vol. 2 #18-21, #50-55.

i've gone into more detail on her appearances in darkstars, green lantern etc but honestly though they are important to understand the status quo & what was going on with her, i don't think they're very good comics to just read for donna. my next rec would probably be wonder woman (1987) #126-136, which is a VERY important arc for her. it goes into more detail on her origin, reconnects her to the amazons & diana, and i believe is where she officially passes on the wonder girl mantle to cassie. and she appears frequently throughout the rest of that wonder woman run after the arc if you want to continue on!

titans (1999) is another big one, beloved beloved comic. lots of good donna content.

titans/young justice: graduation day #1-3 YIKES! unfortunately pivotal to her story lol

dc special: the return of donna troy look. i know I gush about this comic like it's my full time job. but honest to god i adore it to pieces, it's a love letter to donna and her history and it's one of my favorite comics of all time despite only being 4 issues. begging everyone on the planet to read it rn

cass cain:

cass was famously introduced in batman: no man's land! now that event is very very long so it might seem tempting to skip straight to bg 2000 but i'm here to tell you to not do that. if nothing else it is PIVOTAL that you read her introduction issues (mark of cain pts 1 & 2), batman #567 and detective comics #734. probably the coolest most metal introduction of any comics character in history, it's that good. if you're interested in cass's role in nml but not the whole thing, here's a list of her appearances:

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #56

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #57

Batman Chronicles #18

Batman #569

Detective Comics #738

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #124

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #92

Detective Comics #739

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #93

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #60-61

Detective Comics #741

i think nml is essential reading for cass and it makes me sad that a lot of people skip it.

next is, of course, batgirl (2000). it's her character bible it's god's (kelley puckett's) gift to mankind it's maybe the best comic ever written. what more can i say

she's also a fixture in gotham knights! cass was a part of most batfamily events in the early 2000s, ex. officer down, joker's last laugh, war games, bruce wayne: murderer? and bruce wayne: fugitive. it's pretty easy to find them since they mostly cross over with her batgirl run.

detective comics #790 is only one issue but it's. ough.

aaaaand then we get into the evil cass arc stuff which just sucks and isn't worth it. she's pretty much written out of the story for a while, other than red robin #17 & #25.

she does show up as black bat in gates of gotham! i really enjoy that story, and it's only 5 issues.

that gets us to new52. i would completely disregard her rebirth and batgirls appearances honestly. she is a part of the current birds of prey ongoing! and while i am not kelly thompson's biggest fan i do think she gets a lot of cool moments and for the most part she's done right.

she is also featured sporadically throughout ram v's gotham nocturne storyline (it started way back in detective comics #1062 if you want to read the whole arc, it's VERY good). i have to give a special shoutout to #1084, which has a backup story that's focused on cass and it legitamately blew my mind. like i couldn't believe my eyes when i was reading it, maybe it's because cass has been done so dirty over the years that anything makes me happy but to get a cass-centric story featuring shiva that cares about her as a character in 2024 was crazy 2 me i will rave about it forever. thank you alex paknadel.

wally west:

the good news is my wally reclist is WAY less complicated. as is predictable for me, pretty much the only wally rec I have is flash volume 2 (1987). it is for all intents and purposes The Story of Wally West tm. it's his character bible it follows him throughout nearly a decade of his life. because it's so long my specific rec would be to read waid's run on it, from #62-142. if you want more context to his life at the time you can start earlier in the comic, i think #31 is a good jumping on point if you want to experience some messner-loebs but not too much messner-loebs lmfao.

he's featured in titans (1999) until about issue #20, iirc. wally is just fated to quit titans teams lol. there is some good stuff with him up until that point though!

that is honestly about all i got until you get to more modern flash comics. after rebirth he's reintroduced in flash vol. 5, and #768-800 is the jeremy adams run.

he's also the main focus in si spurrier's flash vol. 6! aka the current flash ongoing. which... as i have often said, i am a big fan of.

AND THAT’S MY LIST!!! i hope it helped you out at least a little lol!

[dailycass-cain]

Detective Comics #1082 featured a SURPRISE Cass appearance, but a welcome one always to have. So here are my thoughts on the Cass's showing in that.

I mean every issue of Ram V's Detective Comics is a treat, and this one is no different (even with the guest star that I just LOVE to talk daily about).

Like there are layers to the tale he weaves that not only continue threads from past Batman writers but does his own thing.

Weaving and spinning a story that feels like a natural progression of what was already told by others.

Bruce feels human here than say other comics which "try" to tell it through his thoughts, but man the artist talents have been selling this struggle.

Why the "reward" is all the more "rewarding" because Ram V puts in this "doubt" in prior earlier stories written that, there's that chance Bruce might lose.

I mean we know he won't, but it's that "DOUBT" planted throughout. It makes Bruce relatable.

Speaking of rewards. The B-plot returns us back to Gotham as the Question continues her case as again we see what an Orgham-run Gotham City is like.

How their Reality Machine has wiped the memory of the bat out. HOWEVER…

"The Batman YET haunts Gotham."

I honestly was expecting Jean-Paul (given he was rocking the AzBats suit when we last left him) but to see Cass the OTHER being Ram V continuing the crusade of the bat?

SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!

ahem

I mean logically, I wonder where everyone else is. Dick. Babs. Jim. I know eventually we'll see. But to see Cass still as we lost saw her in 2023 fighting the Orgham and keeping the SYMBOL alive in Gotham?

I mean there's a certain POETRY at hand here as we have two bat suits that basically filled in for Bruce when he was away. Either due to being broken in Knightfall (Jean-Paul)--

--or trying via means as Bruce Wayne to get the government to lift Gotham from being labeled a "No Man's Land" (Cass's costume which Helena Bertinelli used to continue Bruce's crusade).

It's so SATISFYING to see these elements incorporated here. Just now, it's Cass continuing the crusade and making sure Gotham REMEMBERS the bat.

Because it is a characteristic trait that other than Bruce, Cass is one of the few who just understands WHY the bat symbol carries so much.

This exact DRIVE within her, is why she is just BUILT different than most folk in Gotham. Heck Renee struggles with the Realty Machine in places in her story.

Trying to remember what was lost.

Yet, we see Cass like she was ripped from when Jorge Corona drew her in Batgirls (very nicely done there whoever drew her like that). As described in the very comic, "a wraith."

It's that answer Cass gives Renee on HOW she's able to resist. The answer again showcases how Bruce/Cass are just so similar. People wonder why Cass is Bruce's heir to being to him as Batman?

Ram V is giving that answer to modern readers.

This "answer" is not new, I find it akin to what Andersen Gabrych came to in his run of Batgirl Vol. 1. Just not as restricting of characterization with Ben Turner who pointed this fact out, and kneeling.

That Cass was going down this path after taking a life, and saying NO to a life of being a killer. That she chose to use the tools forced onto her to become something else.

I think if we ever get time to see the "lost" era of years when Cass rejected her father and hadn't met Barbara Gordon.

I think Ram V would be a fascinating writer to do this. Will he? Oh, I wish! This year would be PERFECT for it for sure.

It's a "gap" that I feel a writer SHOULD farm. Cause I really don't want Gabrych being the only OTHER than Kelly Puckett himself. I feel the period is ripe to showcase how "bat" she was before becoming one.

Though ironically, it isn't lost upon anyone seeing the heir to Vic Sage and well the daughter of a certain someone.

Again, the themes and poetry of what was told in the past. Just with new layers put in. This "interlude" makes me hunger for a Question tale with Renee and Cass being teaching her like Shiva taught Vic.

If not, well we got that here. Somewhere. Someplace both Vic and Shiva smirked at what occurred in this issue. Renee/Cass doing both proud.

I could gush all day and night on this issue. This was something that was TRULY needed. Or at least told again. To remind folks why Cass is different than Jason, Steph, Tim, Duke, and even Damian.

This issue felt like a 25th-anniversary gift Ram V gave to Cass fans. Even though we have 0 official stuff (we could use some DC).

Cass's portion of Tec #1082 felt like a celebration of why the character has lingered so long.

So thank you to all creatives in this issue. To the writer, artists, inkers, colorist, editors. All involved. 🙏

[theaudientvoid]

Okay, I know, I know, I've been saying that I'll write a "cape comics for Worm readers" list for years, and here we are. But I had the following thought, recently. Hear me out. So like:

1999: Kelly Puckett and Scott Pederson create Cassandra Cain, the second Batgirl, an autistic-coded teenage girl with a death wish. She quickly becomes a fan favorite, and her solo book runs for 6 years and 73 issues.

Mid-Late 2000s: DC Editorial privately makes up their mind that they wants Barbara Gordon to be Batgirl again, despite no one asking for this and all of their writers telling them its a bad idea. DC then begins a multiyear crusade to destroy Cassandra's character, culminating in her being summarily deleted from continuity in 2011 with the New 52 Reboot.

Also Mid-Late 2000s: John "Wildbow" McCrae gives up on mainstream comics, citing comic publishers mistreatment of their female characters.

2011: Wildbow creates Taylor, an aut ... with a dea...

[computer struck by cosmic rays, final line of post corrupted.]

[zahri-melitor]

Casspoll!

Okay I really had to think about this one and I quickly dipped into the runs I have not touched yet rather than just using their reputations:

Kelley Puckett – It’s Puckett. He created Cass. Some of her very best stories happened here – the first two Shiva fights, delivering a man’s final wishes, Nobody Dies Tonight, Thicker than Water. The absolute heart that Cass cannot allow people to be killed hits hard here. She’s still learning about what a society is.

Dylan Horrocks takes Cass and her growth and lets her mess up and brings Bruce and Barbara more into conflict over what Cass needs, but also allows Cass to be in conflict with them over what she wants. It has the Ivy twofer “The City is a Garden/The City is a Jungle” which I think is Horrocks’ best plot. It has Tough Love, where Bruce and Cass have their conversation over what the Bat means to Cass. It has Cooking the Books, where we see the abrasive side of Barbara’s personality come out and hurt her relationship with Cass. It has Cass taking her first steps into relationships, with her attraction to Tai’Darshan and Kon. It’s a messier, more complicated time.

Andersen Gabrynch has the best conversation of Fresh Blood with Tim over their life goals and their reflections on War Games. He has Destruction’s Daughter/Blood Matters and everything that comes with the culmination of that storyline. He gives Cass her first taste of civilian life. Gabrynch is the ‘how far will Cass go’ writer.

Adam Beechen: you’re all mean! Oh Beechen. He screwed up first time around, no question, but I continue to maintain he did useful things with Cass in Batgirl 2008. He brought in the chance to parallel Slade and Rose’s relationship with David and Cass’. He worked hard to find fixes for the mistakes he made. And if Fresh Blood set up the situation where we saw Tim and Cass become closer and start establishing a sibling-like relationship, then Beechen solidified it to the point that it was expected from that point onwards.

Joe Kelly: oh, Justice League Elite. You are certainly a story. I think the most important thing Kelly actually did in JLE was when Cass stabbed Kendra. It broke her. There is some beautiful writing in JLE surrounding Cass basically sobbing to Bruce over this incident, and Bruce promising her that she doesn’t have to stay undercover, he’ll pull her out, her happiness is more important to him than this mission, and Cass refusing to be extracted. And Ollie remaining there the whole time to keep an eye on Cass on Bruce’s behalf. It’s such a good paternal moment on both Bruce and Ollie’s parts, and they so very rarely get them in concert. It’s also a moment of growth in Cass that is rarely referenced, because as I must repeat, it happens in JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE.

Bryan Hill: I have heard good things! And immediately on picking it up and going through the first three issues I saw the exact thing I’d enjoyed and wanted more of from Dixon’s 2008 BatO run – Tatsu working with and mentoring Cass – which is a solid recommendation in itself. Will 100% be coming back to this when I get up to this era in my reading.

Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad: I dipped into #1 and #14. It suffers from the modern era problem of light and bright fluffy content without a solid base behind it. Also the fact that the writers didn’t initially realise that two of the characters they were assigned were ADULTS and were writing them that immaturely is certainly not reassuring. Um. I also know I’m not fully across modern era Cass yet, but #14 seems to miss something that’s basic to my understanding of Cass – talking can be hard but READING is harder. Cass not talking but having reading comprehension showing up constantly? It feels off. (Also I’m fascinated in how an issue like Batgirls #1 manages to be that off while still managing the Cass shower robe scene, which to my eye echoes and references the BatO 2008 Cass shower scene. Suspect they just got lucky and I’m reading too much in)

Mariko Tamaki: okay I have not yet read Shadows of the Bat: The Tower, but I have read Sounds, so I’m basing on that. Tamaki really seems to get Cass, her hand with the character work in Sounds hit some very fundamental parts of Cass’ character and struggles, and I really enjoyed it.

Overlooked: ALYSSA WONG. Wong’s work with Cass in Spirit World not only has been busy recanonising a bunch of things from Batgirl 2000, but is touching on some central aspects of Cass’s view of killing and death in beautiful resonance of things originally established by Puckett. Also it’s given Cass some narrative space back on her own, and while I think Cass’s relationship with Steph is important, I also think she’s more functional and useful to DC writers when she’s not assumed to be part of an automatic pair.

Plus a plug for Scott Snyder for Gates of Gotham and giving us proper insight into the Reborn era Cass relationships with her brothers.

[gideonthefirst]

12, 13, and 17 for book asks :]

12. Any books that disappointed you?

I ended up a little bit disappointed by The Forbidden Book by [author name redacted because we have some overlapping tumblr circles] but that's almost entirely just because of how totally perfect their first book was. And I did still enjoy it, it just didn't quite live up to expectations. Um, Jessica Hopper's The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic had some really sharp and incisive parts but mostly I ended up feeling was not organized in a particularly compelling way and included some essays I certainly would have cut. Dungeon Meshi had been talked up a ton by a lot of very smart people who I respect and unfortunately I'm sad to re-report that every single one of them was just straight up wrong and it's not very good at all. You know the situation is bad when I'm saying things like man why the fuck is there no sex in this series.

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

JUST FINISHED IT FOR BOOK CLUB! Genuinely I think the worst book I have ever read in full, Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn. We genuinely could not find a direction for discussion about it tonight because we kept getting sidetracked by new things someone had remembered that sucked badly. It had everything. Turgid prose, no direction, biological essentialism, extremely annoying resolution of a pregnancy arc, biological essentialism, totally opaque plot, extremely baffling misogyny, biological essentialism,

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Yeas :] Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, as I've talked about a lot. A lot of the comics I read this year; Gotham Central, most notably, but also Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman (2016), a lot of Kelley Puckett's Batgirl I read, etc. It's crazy that at some point they started letting comics be good sometimes. Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry by John Murillo, which was surprising only in that I am just so extraordinarily picky about poetry and Kelly my friend Kelly absolutely nailed that recommendation first try. I think his writing is so gorgeous and smart and rhythmic and his narrative sense is extremely sharp and compelling. And I like him a lot and I am really excited for his next collection whenever he puts one out :] I need to resume poetryquest next year it was broadly not super successful but in some cases was definitely successful enough to be worth continuing to pursue

[helenaheissner]

Top 15 DC comics runs:

15. Icon by Dwayne McDuffie

14. Animal Man by Grant Morrison

13. Justice League Dark by James Tynion

12. Dr. Fate by Paul Levitz

11. Justice League by Scott Snyder

10. Batgirl by Kelly Puckett

9. Green Lantern by Ron Marz

8. Supergirl by Paul Kuppenberg

7. Batgirls by Becky Cloonan & Michael Conrad

6. Shazam by Jerry Ordway

5. Blue Beetle by John Rogers

4. Supergirl by Steve Orlando

3. Batman by Grant Morrison

2. JSA by Geoff Johns

1. Flash by Mark Waid

[welcometogrouchland]

*twirling my hair* do you like cassandra cain? if not, do u have a moment to hear about our lord and saviour cassandra cain?

CASSANDRA CAIN MY LOVE!!! She's definitely the batgirl I've read the most in terms of full issues, the first 30-ish issues of her solo by Kelly Puckett Scott Peterson and Damion Scott had me hooked and I binged them but fell off after Horrocks came on (nothing against him, he was just given an editorial mandate to make the book more romance focused and it turned me off because it felt so ooc for Cass to me lol. I do own some of the issues he wrote tho! I like the ones with art by Rick Leonardi). I'm not really caught up with modern comics (ish??) And I'm not reading anything dedicatedly but I hear she's in a new original book teaming up with a magic user? Neat! Good for her. I love her in the shadow of the batgirl graphic novel (IT'S SO GOOD)

[eahostudiogallery]

tone poems

Emma McNally

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Sam Francis

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Dorothea Rockburne - Ivory Black

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Endre Penovác - Serbia

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Ellsworth Kelly - Brushstrokes Cut into Forty-Nine Squares and Arranged by Chance, 1951

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Agnès Martin - This Rain

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Elaine de Kooning - 2 from series 1,2,3,4

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Jack Whitten - Kappa Group II

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Uturinntakayuki

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Elfriede Stegemeyer

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Elliott Puckette

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Wolfgang Weingart

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Sunday: summer splash

[drbatsponge]

This shit happens every time Cass is in a big fight with some important character and she holds her own, there's always people going "um achtually 🤓☝️!"

I'm sorry, but read issue 3 of her series, it's well established she can take hits from metahumans and even if Diana knocked her out she still recovered pretty damn quickly if the Amazons weren't able to capture her, lol.

[gretahayes]

how good is kelly puckett on ga

[kyyall]

okay, to sum up supergirl (2005)

Loeb: yay someone learned how to write teenagers from geoff johns. 

Rucka: He’s confusing as fuck. I don’t know what is happening in his run.

Kelly: One of the most unpleasant things I have ever read. Just no. Thank god it was retconned almost immediately.

Puckett: Immediate boost in quality. His run was enjoyable to read, and after reading Kelly’s, this was great. He also retconned most of Kelly’s run, which gives him four stars.

Gates: Best writer of the book, hands down. Cohesive storylines, good character development, an even better retcon of Kelly’s storyline because it had more plot to it, just really good. 

Peaty: This one was just fun. A cool team-up between Kara, Jaime Reyes, Damian Wayne, and Miss Martian was really fun and I wished we had seen more of this before n52. He also wrote a previous issue in which anita fite and kara had teamed up (issue #33 if you want to check it out) and that was great.

DeConnick: I enjoyed her Kara and it would’ve been cool to see where she would’ve taken the book if it hadn’t ended three issues after she started to make way for n52.

overall, i’d say everything after joe kelly is worth the read. i really enjoyed lana’s and kara’s relationship in gates’ run, and puckett gives some emotional depth with both clark and kara which was nice to see. peaty’s was a good teamup and deconnick gives it a nice ending to top it all of at the end of the book.

[gotylocks]

Favorite book you read this year?

If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

I didn't read any non-comic books this year, but my favorite comic I read would have to be the Kelly Puckett run on Batgirl, which I loved so much that it made Cassandra Cain my favorite DC character, changing a ranking that had stood in my mind since I was a kid.

A message I'd send to myself at the beginning of the year? Start looking for a new car and replace the one you have before it dies on you.

[sporadiceagleheart]

Iliana Rose “Lilly” Garcia, Lily Rose Diaz, Lily, Rosa Alice Lilly Lilly, Lily Rose Hughes Callaghan, Lily Rose Dragna Cormier, Lily Rose Barrett Fray, Lily Rose, Rachel Elizabeth Souza Entwistle, Lillian Rose “Lilly” Entwistle, Lillian Rose “Lily” Klages, Lily M Conroy, Lily Kerkorian, Nathalie “Lily” Sergueiew Collings, Lilly Gray, Lilly Edith Gray Gray, Lily Peters, Liliana Marie “Lily” Peters, Olivia Pratt Korbel, Saffie Rose Roussos, Makenna Lee Elrod, Eliahna Torres, Jackie Cazares, Elizabeth Shelley, Sara Sharif, Charlotte Figi, Jersey Dianne Bridgeman, Sidra Hassouna, Sloan Mattingly, Audrii Cunningham, Athena Strand, Athena Brownfield, Macie Hill, Mercedes Losoya, Lucy Morgan, Star Hobson, Lois Janes, Louis XVII, Sharon Lee Gallegos, Anna D Crnkovic, Irmgard Christine Winter, Norah Lee Howard, Ava Jordan Wood, Leiliana Wright, Semina Mary Halliwell, Lily Lynette Furneaux, Elizabeth “Lily” Jackson, Lily Irene Jackson, Lillie Jackson Brown, Lillie May Carroll Jackson, Cherish Lily Perrywinkle, Cleo Paroli, Lily Sage DeMuth, Lily Alyscia Ledbetter, Lily Silva-Lopez, Lili Elbe Lili Ilse Elvenes, Andre Kostelanetz, Lily Pons/Lily Ponds, Lily G. Puckett Furneaux, Noel Lister, Lilly Hatfield, Charlotte Ruby “Charlie” Emily, Lily Laskine, Lily Leone Morford Cottey, Patricia Elise “Patsy” Parrott Williams, Lily Elise Price Parrott, Mary Lily Connally Morehead, Lily Connally Morehead Mebane, Lily Deacon Forepaugh, Elizabeth Mary “Lily” Cove, Lily Kelly Kahn Harrison, Lillie Langtry, Lillie Matilda Swift, Mrs Lillian “Lily” Kroesen Pickett, Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly, Gustavus Lilly, Esther Elizabeth Kirby Lilly, Emily Lemon Lilly, Lilian Elizabeth “Lily” Badger, Sarah Hudson Badger, Grace McCarthy Badger, Matthew Owens Badger,

[thethingaboutnapkinman]

kelly puckett come back to us

the fact that ram v and mark waid are working on currently unannounced dc projects that will probably be revealed this month.. we have never been so back