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eddycurrents · 6 years ago

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For the week of 7 January 2019

Quick Bits:

Aliens: Dust to Dust #4 concludes this series from Gabriel Hardman, Rain Beredo, and Michael Heisler. It’s been very good, capturing the feel and atmosphere of the first two Alien films and delivering a very taut horror-thriller. Absolutely gorgeous artwork from Hardman and Beredo.

| Published by Dark Horse

Atomic Robo: Dawn of a New Era #1 isn’t a bad jumping on point. It doesn’t really get you up to speed on the past of the series, but you also don’t really need to have read any of it to enjoy this story. Great humour and interesting tidbits of science and history as usual from Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener, Shannon Murphy, and Jeff Powell.

| Published by IDW

Avengers #12 works to build up Black Panther’s “Agents of Wakanda” to serve as a support network for information and grunt work throughout the world to feed the Avengers team proper. It’s an interesting use of otherwise lesser-used characters from Jason Aaron and definitely broadens the scope of the overall series.

| Published by Marvel

Barbarella/Dejah Thoris #1 is a very good beginning to this series from Leah Williams, Germán García, Addison Duke, and Crank!. Williams captures the tone and feel of both characters very well through their dialogue and the artwork from García and Duke is impressive.

| Published by Dynamite

Batman #62 is the second part of “Knightmares”, which near as I can tell is going to be a series of one-off stories by an array of brilliant artists with Batman as filtered through some strange psycho-thriller lens (or at least the first two parts adhere to that ethos). It’s good, but it’s weird. Great art from Mitch Gerads as Tom King keeps us off balance and at arms length with the narrative confusion.

| Published by DC Comics

Birthright #35 concludes this arc with an epic battle between Brennan and Mikey, as Brennan confronts his family, cutting deep into the resentment that Brennan has felt for his brother. The art from Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas is amazing.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Bitter Root #3 continues to be thoroughly excellent in every conceivable way, presenting a compelling mystery in the origins of the Jinoo, an interesting family drama delving into more of the history and interpersonal foibles of the Sangerye family, and it’s just an entertaining supernatural schlockfest on top of all of that. David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, Sanford Greene, Rico Renzi, and Clayton Cowles are delivering one hell of a story here. Oh, and the art from Greene and Renzi is stunning.

| Published by Image

The Black Order #3 shifts to the perspective of Black Dwarf here, and like the first issue, plays off a narrative that is contrary to what you’d expect. Where Glaive thought himself a comedian, Black Dwarf is more contemplative, wondering if his thoughts and desires are who he is, or if he’s merely the brute that others see. It’s interesting, even as it continues the ongoing plot of trying to destroy the Sinnarian Empire.

| Published by Marvel

By Night #7 takes an interesting turn as Heather’s father and uncle take a moment to act as exterminators and she and Jane try to rescue Barney from a mob boss. Love the humour as always from John Allison’s script, especially as he adds some unexpected elements. Very nice design and presentation of the bug from Eidolon by Christine Larsen and Sarah Stern.

| Published Boom Entertainment / BOOM! Box

Captain Marvel #1 is a fun relaunch, perfectly mixing humour, action, and interpersonal drama as Kelly Thompson, Carmen Carnero, Tamra Bonvillain, and Clayton Cowles bring Carol back to New York. Beautiful colours throughout from Bonvillain, really making Carnero’s line art shine.

| Published by Marvel

Criminal #1 is a very welcome return to the Lawless family, as Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, and Jacob Phillips weave a tale of Ricky stealing an old thief’s necklace trying to bail Teeg out of jail, only to wind up in even more hot water than he began in. You don’t need to have read any of the previous volumes of Criminal before, but I still highly recommend that you do since they’re awesome.

| Published by Image

The Curse of Brimstone #10 gives us some more answers as Annie confronts Wandering Jack to get information on the Salesman and to figure out a way to possibly save her brother. This is still a weird series, but Justin Jordan, Eduardo Pansica, Júlio Ferreira, Rain Beredo, and Wes Abbott have definitely been making it interesting.

| Published by DC Comics

Deathstroke #39 gears us up for the conclusion next issue by positing that from Slade’s point of view what he’s claimed happened actually did happen, as the disparate threads converge. It’s interesting as to how Priest has been staging this story.

| Published by DC Comics

Die #2 is brilliant. As good as the first issue was, and it was really damn good, this one is even better as we get the exposed to some of the rules of this fantasy world and thrown headlong into the seamless world building of this realm. Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles have something truly magical here, taking a childhood love of science fiction and fantasy, and subverting it into something that can hurt us like weaponized nostalgia. It is absolutely stunning.

| Published by Image

Faith: Dreamside #4 is a very strong conclusion to this mini from Jody Houser, MJ Kim, Jordie Bellaire, and Dave Sharpe. The entire series has looked good, but Kim and Bellaire really take it to another level with this finale, the confrontation of Belu is just incredible.

| Published by Valiant

The Freeze #2 is probably better than the first issue and it was an incredibly debut, from Dan Wickline, Phillip Sevy, and Troy Peteri. I absolutely love that the focus isn’t on the freeze itself or what caused it, and is instead about the people living in the world and the problems that this kind of apocalypse could cause. It’s smart and leads to some very compelling character drama and complications.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 is amazing. Spectacular even. This is a very heartfelt and humorous debut from Tom Taylor, Juann Cabal, Nolan Woodard, and Travis Lanham that takes Spider-Man down to the local level, spotlighting his, well, neighbourhood. There’s also a back-up from Taylor, Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, Jim Campbell, and Lanham that could well be a game-changer.

| Published by Marvel

The Green Lantern #3 continues to be one hell of trip from Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp, Steve Oliff, and Tom Orzechowski. It still feels like something out of a different time, but that’s part of what really makes this work.

| Published by DC Comics

Gunning for Hits #1 is a pretty dense beginning to what’s apparently a crime drama mixed with the music industry, not at all like Empire because I know that’s probably what many would think. It’s seedier, grittier, down at the street level, but as I say, this is dense. This first issue has a lot of narration, a lot of dialogue, and a great number of pages that more or less outline how signing deals work in a how-to format. It’s unique, blending some of the hallmarks of something like an autobio comic with a more standard narrative approach. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what Jeff Rougvie, Moritat, and Casey Silver do for a second number.

| Published by Image

Hit-Girl #12 is the bloody conclusion to Rafael Scavone, Rafael Albuquerque, Marcel Maiolo, and Clem Robins’ “Rome” arc with Mindy and Paola confronting the corrupt convent. Absolutely beautiful artwork from Albuquerque and Maiolo, with even time for one last twist in the tale.

| Published by Image

House Amok #4 features some very impressive artwork from Shawn McManus and Lee Loughridge as the story takes and interesting path as it heads towards the conclusion. Christopher Sebela has been giving us an interesting look at this world through Dylan as the scales fell from her eyes, but this one makes us wonder, what if the family isn’t really crazy.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Justice League #15 heats things up on Hawkworld with a very interesting revelation about Shayera and Thanagar Prime, along with a deeper mystery about the multiverse. It really makes me wonder what James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder are getting at. Gorgeous art throughout from Jim Cheung, Stephen Segovia, Mark Morales, Tomeu Morey, and Wil Quintana.

| Published by DC Comics

The Last Siege #8 is the brutal conclusion to this series that has been a practical masterclass in storytelling, from character development through pacing, atmosphere and execution. This series has just been incredible. Landry Q. Walker, Justin Greenwood, Brad Simpson, and Patrick Brosseau stick the landing with one hell of a finale.

| Published by Image

Man Without Fear #2 continues to tear Matt Murdock apart as he finds ways not to deal very well with being hit by a truck. And gives in to fear. Great art from Stefano Landini and Andres Mossa as Matt’s nightmares come to life.

| Published by Marvel

Martian Manhunter #2 continues to be a bit of a slow burn, parcelling out a bit about the in-story present and then delving into more about J’onn’s past on Mars, building up Martian culture and what they were taking from Earth even in our ancient past. The art from Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia is amazing.

| Published by DC Comics

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 is another great issue as Miles and the Rhino team-up to track down the missing kids. Saladin Ahmed does an amazing job of humanizing Rhino and making us empathize with his plight. The art from Javier Garrón and David Curiel is again very impressive.

| Published by Marvel

Moth & Whisper #5 concludes this series from Ted Anderson, Jen Hickman, and Marshall Dillon. While it does bring the story to a satisfying resolution, it still leaves open the door for more to come, which I’d love to see.

| Published by AfterShock

Murder Falcon #4 delivers some pretty big revelations as the reunited Brooticus faces off against Magnum Khaos. It goes about as well as you’d expect. Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, and Rus Wooton are really nailing the heartfelt character beats in amongst the over-the-top monster battles.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Oblivion Song #11 deals with the fallout of Ed’s transference of another piece of Philly over to Oblivion. Gorgeous artwork as always from Lorenzo De Felici and Annalisa Leoni, particularly during the creature battles.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Outer Darkness #3 continues to show us how this universe works as the crew try to salvage a derelict vessel on a supposedly barren rock. This mix of horror and science fiction is wonderful and John Layman, Afu Chan, and Pat Brosseau are really creating something unique here.

| Published by Image / Skybound

The Punisher #6 begins the next leg of Frank’s ongoing nightmares with the first part of “War in Bagalia” from Matthew Rosenberg, Szymon Kudranski, Antonio Fabela, and Cory Petit. I’ve really been enjoying what Rosenberg has been doing since the “War Machine” arc and it just seems to be getting better. There’s some really intriguing things about a nation run by Baron Zemo here.

| Published by Marvel

Red Sonja #25 ends this volume with another one-off tale with Red Sonja ferrying a musician to a ship on the coast from Amy Chu, Erik Burnham, Carlos Gomez, Mohan, and Taylor Esposito. It’s a curious story of longing for home that allows for a little bit of reflection on the series, but it doesn’t ruminate on it long.

| Published by Dynamite

Self/Made #2 doesn’t have the luxury of the twist of the first issue, so has to work harder to get past that “I see dead people” Sixth Sense moment, and, really, it does. This is just a damned good story, playing with sci-fi and fantasy elements, blended seamlessly due to it all being a representation of game development. Mat Groom, Eduardo Ferigato, Marcelo Costa, and Troy Peteri are doing some great work here.

| Published by Image

Sleepless #11 brings all of the plots and machinations to an end as Sarah Vaughn, Leila Del Duca, Alissa Sallah, Gabe Fischer, and Deron Bennett bring the series to an end. Some very interesting bits of tradition, change, and resentment towards monarchy.

| Published by Image

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #4 is an epilogue to the “Spider-Geddon” event, paying tribute and burying the fallen. It’s a very haunting story, making you wonder if Gwen’s going to take a darker turn in the future. Seanan McGuire, Rosi Kämpe, Takeshi Miyazawa, Ian Herring, and Clayton Cowles do a wonderful saying goodbye to various parts of the Spider-Verse.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Republic - Jango Fett #1 is this week’s one-shot exploring various characters around the Star Wars canon. Jody Houser, Luke Ross, Java Tartaglia, and Travis Lanham give us a decent story of betrayal and consequences with Jango and Boba Fett.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #3 concludes this mini from Scott Beatty, Derek Charm, Jon Sommariva, Sean Parsons, Matt Herms, and Tom B. Long. It’s been interesting to see the two time periods of the stories play against one other with events in the past informing those in the present.

| Published by IDW

Thor #9 is somewhat of a companion piece to this week’s Avengers #12, setting up Roz Solomon as another Agent of Wakanda, but you don’t need to read both of them to enjoy them individually. This one delivers a lot of information on what’s going on in regards to the build up of the “War of the Realms” in addition to giving Roz a new purpose and changed outlook. Gorgeous artwork from Mike del Mundo.

| Published by Marvel

Turok #1 is an entertaining reimagining of the series from Ron Marz, Roberto Castro, Salvatore Aiala, and Troy Peteri, somewhat in line with the original Valiant interpretation, albeit moving it forward to the late 1800′s. Quite like the art from Castro and Aiala. Castro’s art reminds me a bit of a cross between Joe Kubert, Bart Sears, and Jordi Bernet.

| Published by Dynamite

United States vs. Murder Inc. #5 paints a very bleak picture for the next stage in the US government’s war against the crime families following the assassination of the President. Wonderful work on tone and atmosphere from Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming, Taki Soma, and Carlos M. Mangual.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Web of Venom: Venom Unleashed #1 is a pair of tales spotlighting the new dog-form of the symbiote as he chases down people infected by Carnage, then Cletus’ perspective on it, from Ryan Stegman, Kyle Hotz, Juan Gedeon, Marc Deering, Scott Hanna, Livesay, Roberto Poggi, Victor Olazaba, Dan Brown, Matt Yackey, Andrew Crossley, Carlos Cabrera, and Clayton Cowles. Really nice to see Hotz’s art here.

| Published by Marvel

William Gibson’s Alien 3 #3 has the crap hit the proverbial fan as meddling with the xenomorphs begins to bear its deadly fruit. Johnnie Christmas, Tamra Bonvillain, and Nate Piekos are doing such an amazing job at adapting this for comics, it makes me kind of sad that it wasn’t the direction the films took.

| Published by Dark Horse

Wizard Beach #2 continues the fun of the first issue, with Hex trying to get off the beach, build himself a castle, and hunt down tasty, delicious rats for lunch to no avail. Nice bits of humour and the introduction of a girl who Hex might well be smitten with, as well as a darker mystery involving her grandfather’s wand. Great art from Conor Nolan, Chad Lewis, and Meg Casey.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

The Wrong Earth #5 has both of the dimension-displaced Dragonflies(flymen) continue to attempt to get back to their respective homes. Also, through flashbacks and monologues, I kind of get the impression that Tom Peyer is trying to tell us that both of them are thoroughly insane. There’s also the usual back-up comic and prose text pieces to round out the issue.

| Published by Ahoy

Young Justice #1 is the launch vehicle of the new Brian Michael Bendis-driven Wonder Comics line. If you look at it from a perspective of DC’s continuity, it’s probably very confusing. Many of the characters seem to be in their pre-New 52, even potentially pre-Infinite Crisis forms, Gemworld is attacking, Amethyst seems particularly bloodthirsty, and we’ve got a couple of inexplicable legacy characters in Jinny Hex and Teen Lantern, but...I think that confusion, that chaos and frenetic energy, is part of the point, since at the onset, the invaders from Gemworld are aware of the shifts in the multiverse. So maybe give it a chance to develop from there are clue us in on what’s ultimately going on? Regardless, there’s gorgeous action, interesting layouts, and fascinating design work from Patrick Gleason and Alejandro Sanchez.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Other Highlights: Auntie Agatha’s Home for Wayward Rabbits #3, Black Dahlia, Blackbird #4, Cemetery Beach #5, Curse Words #19, The Dreaming #5, DuckTales #16, Euthanauts #5, Go Go Power Rangers #16, God of War #3, Hack/Slash vs. Chaos! #2, Joe Golem: The Drowning City #5, Kick-Ass #11, LaGuardia #2, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest #4, Patience! Conviction! Revenge! #5, Predator: Hunters II #4, Prodigy #2, Rose #16, Star Wars #59, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #40, Vampirella/Dejah Thoris #4

Recommended Collections: Dread Gods, Eclipse - Volume 3, Lucy Dreaming, Modern Fantasy, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra - Volume 4: Catastrophe Con, Tomb Raider - Volume 4: Inferno

Housekeeping: You can check out my review of the hardcover of Rick Geary’s Black Dahlia here.

Also, every Monday, I’ve been providing a selection for my comic of the week for Batman’s Bookcase. The latest was a look at Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Matthew Wilson, and Travis Lanham’s excellent Conan the Barbarian #1. Read it here.

d. emerson eddy is too hot to handle, too cold to hold, he’s not a Ghostbuster, and he’s not in control. Please somebody put him back into his cage and into some kind of climate controlled environment.

#This Week in Comics

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askthedespairkids · 6 years ago

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Hey I really like the 79-B kids when they're around but since we dont know a lot about them could we get some info on them????

//Like all of them…? Uh, sure. I’ll put it under the cut for ya’ll since this’ll be a long post.

Sora Nagata - Ultimate Riddle Solver

Gender: Male

Height: 5′8″

Birthday: February 14th

Likes: Long naps

Dislikes: Stressful situations

Was captured by: Masaru

Sora Nagata is a lazy smartass in every sense of the phrase. With something to say, he easily ends up arguing with people, especially annoying them with his inability to do anything for himself unless he has no other choice. He will try to find a way to get out of anything so he doesn’t stress himself out. On the flip-side, he has a high IQ with great problem solving abilities which was recognised by Hope’s Peak when his brother forced him into a mystery solving contest, being able to solve the mysteries in mere minutes or even seconds earned him his title of Ultimate Riddle Solver, even if he thinks “school and exams are just a pain in the ass”

Mamoru Fukao - Ultimate Assistant

Gender: Male

Height: 5′9″

Birthday: September 18th

Likes: Organised lists

Dislikes: Truancy

Was captured by: Nobody

Mamoru Fukao is a usually level-headed boy that makes sure that works to make sure everyone is able to complete tasks by lightening the load for them. As the student council vice-president at his old high school, word spread quickly about his organisation in and out of school, being able to help other people manage businesses by managing paperwork and such. Despite usually being able to hold his composure well, his childhood friend, Sora, easily manages to set him off in a nearly unquenchable rage due to Sora’s disrespectful nature and taunts.

Denbe Katayama - Ultimate Sniper

Gender: Male

Height: 5′6″

Birthday: October 4th

Likes: Rock music

Dislikes: Interviews

Was captured by: Nobody

Denbe was a member of a special sniper unit in the mercenary group, Fenrir. Due to a belief in the unit that said “snipers should never be able to speak”, his tongue was cut out at a young age as an initiation into the group, leaving him mute. On the battlefield, he has an intense bloodlust and unbelievable accuracy that let him take out over 100 enemies in his first year of being on the battlefield. However, off the battlefield, he transforms into a shy but friendly boy who just wants to be able to make friends with the people around him, though his past and mute state makes it hard.

Ryokai Araki - Ultimate Exorcist

Gender: Male

Height 5′6″

Birthday: October 31st

Likes: Salt

Dislikes: Doctors

Was captured by: Yuuko

Ryokai was subjected to brutal tests by his father and his father’s friends who wished to use science to prove ghosts and the paranormal existed, in doing so, the experiments gave Ryokai the ability to fight said paranormal entities. Despite his plain appearance, he can use special charms to exorcise the demons from people and places with intense powers. He has a phobia of doctors due to the experiments, and has a series stutter that he can’t control. Along with a heavy guilty conscious of knowing that he wasn’t the only test subject at the labs, he feels as though he doesn’t deserve kindness from those around him after feeling like he abandoned people who called him things like “Aniki” and “Kyoudai”, so when he introduces himself somethings he says “Kyoudai Aniki” instead of Ryokai Araki.

Kotone Okuda - Ultimate Bounty Hunter

Gender: Female

Height: 5′11″

Birthday: December 2nd

Likes: Leather jackets

Dislikes: Assassins

Was Captured by: Mike

When Kotone was young, she witnessed her father, Yuri Okuda, getting murdered by an assassin. Every since then, she’s had an intense hatred against criminals, specifically killers. She became a bounty hunter to bring down criminals and prevent any further misery happening to innocent people, but she refused to ever kill them. Around people, she’s a loud and proud person who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and tell people how it is, also having an affinity for “cute girls”. When she’s not socialising, she’s training for the day she meets her dad’s killer and putting an end to the misery he caused to people throughout the years…

Akiko Sugiyama - Ultimate Songwriter

Gender: Female

Height: 5′7″

Birthday: April 14th

Likes: Tea Cakes

Dislikes: Plagiarism

Was captured by: Yuuko

Throughout her childhood, Akiko could always be seen writing down random words and phrases in her diary. At age 5 she began to learn the piano, and then began composing chord progressions, and thus her songwriting began. Though, due to anxiety issues, she is unable to perform her songs unless nobody is around so she sold her song to a new idol which gave the idol her first no.1 in the charts. Ever since, Akiko had a reputation for her way with words and has been asked by stars all over the world to write songs for them. A simple personality, though easily angered if people talk about her appearance, especially her commonly described “large forehead”. However, she’s an easy person to talk to who anyone can be friends with.

Yumiko Hashimoto - Ultimate Reporter

Gender: Female

Height: 5′5″

Birthday: January 26th

Likes: Sensible outfits

Dislikes: Messy people

Was captured by: Celes

Starting off as an intern at her local news station, and working at her school’s newspaper club, Yumiko didn’t have much in the way of experience with reporting until the news station’s field reporter was off sick and Yumiko was forced into the position instead. Thinking it would be a one-off, Yumiko took her chance and made the most of it and reported the news as best as she could. That same day, social media showed that many people were complimenting the way the ‘pretty blonde girl’ reported the stories that day. Yumiko, due to this, ended up becoming a part-time reporter where she would report the news with a bright and cheery attitude, that caused teens to watch the news more in admiration of someone their age being a reporter. Though she has a warm and kind personality on camera, off camera she becomes a different person, acting more coldly and harshly to those around her which can come as a surprise to her fans. However, if you ever want someone to report, Yumiko is the one to call.

Chieko Arishima - Ultimate Shrine Maiden

Gender: Female

Height: 5′2″

Birthday: June 1st

Likes: Bells

Dislikes: Litter

Was captured by: Natsumi

A small a extremely shy girl who is scared to socialise and express her opinions, Chieko has always had trouble trying to make friends with those around her. Her sensitive heart makes it easy for her to burst into tears. However, when working at the shrine her family maintains, she becomes a responsible young woman who carries out her duties with precision and can organise the shrine festivals by herself. Living her life to respect the shrine gods, she does her best to always be kind to people.

Fumio Numajiri - Ultimate Judge

Gender: Male

Height: 5′10″

Birthday: August 8th

Likes: Board games

Dislikes: Injustice

Was captured by: Nagisa

Fumio’s abilities were first noticed when his home was robbed and he accused his neighbour with only a “gut feeling”, as he described it. It took time, but his parents eventually decided to investigate the neighbour’s home and found some of the missing items. His father, who was also a judge, decided to test him further in order to gauge the extent of his son’s abilities. When he was satisfied, he had Fumio take the exam to become a judge in courts, making him the youngest judge in history. He has a cool demeanour in serious situation, though he has trouble with his emotions, from getting flustered easily, to being easily angered, even worrying far to much for his own good, but you can always trust in him to tell if there’s good in someone.

Robyn Hutchison - Ultimate Nudes Artist

Gender: Female

Height: 5′8″

Birthday: September 1st

Likes: Abs

Dislikes: Makeup

Was captured by: Jataro

The bespectacled ginger Scottish beauty, Robyn defies all expectations with her talent alone. Having an undeniably beautiful art style comes with it’s own downsides: Robyn is only able to become inspired by muscular male bodies. Despite this being her only muse, if she goes too long without drawing, she gets cranky and can lash out so she is always on the lookout for muscular boys to draw (of age, of course). When she’s calm, she has a fun personality and likes to take playful jabs at her friends, never truly meaning any offence, though the difference in cultural humour sometimes gets her in trouble, and she can get words wrong on occasion when speaking. She describes her art as “tasteful nudes” and loathes it when someone calls it “porn”.

Ayame Ichimonji - Ultimate Gardener

Gender: Female

Height: 5′6″

Birthday: July 10th

Likes: Marigolds

Dislikes: Rafflesia

Was captured by: Nagito

A soft-spoken girl who always has a smile plastered on her face, Ayame is the ideal friend to have if you want to have a nice conversation over tea. Growing up as a homeless orphan, she was taken in by a kind old lady who taught her what she now knows about gardening. Ayame’s abilities allow her to make any garden flourish, even creating her own special mulch. Though occasionally suspected of having some kind of dark secret, she brushes off any such accusation, simply stating that she wishes to repay the kindness she was given by the old lady who helped her.

Takashi Hayashi - Ultimate Archaeologist

Gender: Male

Height: 5′1″

Birthday: May 19th

Likes: His oversized trench coat

Dislikes: Broccoli

Was captured by: Kazuichi

Takashi is energy in human form. He is never not excited and loves to jump around and hug people, which can come across as irritating to some. Takashi loves to help people, and goes along with other people’s antics without any, or very little, argument. Despite his very youthful look, he is actually the oldest in his class, actually being 19 years old, but started school late, which is why he’s so many years older than his class members. Takashi became an archaeologist after he escaped a kidnapping attempt and wandered onto a digging site. Ever since he found his first set of bones, he’s loved archaeology. Though, he never talks about it, he’s sad that he was separated from his parents and younger brother, and uses archaeology to take his mind off it, which isn’t always a bad thing. He needs to put all that energy somewhere.

Shin Tamuro - Ultimate Spy

Gender: Male

Height: 6′1″

Birthday: ???

Likes: Hair dye

Dislikes: Failure

Was captured by: Maverick

As an experiment, several children of government officials were taken in to raise as spies. Shin was one of these children. He was trained in combat and counterespionage from age 5, given the belief that the mission was important above all else.Shin ended up at the top of this group in all areas and was made an official spy. Whilst this does mean he has developed superior strength, reflexes, and intelligence, he has lost the ability to feel most emotions and it has become extremely rare for him to ever react or lose his composure. He has incredible acting abilities though, for when he is undercover, so it can be hard to tell if he is truly indifferent or not to situations. However, he is not shy in admitting that he has some family issues, never forgiving his parents for forcing him into this life.

Haruhi Matsushima - Ultimate Occultist

Gender: Female

Height: 5′5″

Birthday: October 13th

Likes: Ghost stories

Dislikes: Squid

Was Captured by: Monaca

Having a cousin who was interested in the occult, Haruhi was exposed to the occult life in her very early life. Whenever she’d go to her cousin’s house, she’d listen intently to the stories he had, and Haruhi would read all the books on the occult that she could get her hands on, managing to learn different topics on hexes and curses, on demons, and all things occult. A fiery personality, where she’s quick to threaten people with curses with rather odd effects such as “needing to go to the bathroom more often” or “your shoelaces will always come undone no matter how tightly you tie them”, she can come across wrongly. Deep down, Haruhi wants to be able to get along with people, however her obsession with the abnormal makes it hard for her.

Hiroaki Yamahata - Ultimate Daredevil

Gender: Male

Height: 6′0″

Birthday: March 27th

Likes: Flames

Dislikes: Boring environments

Was captured by: Mike

A rambunctious teen who lives for the death-defying lifestyle, Hiroaki can and will find a way to live each day like its his last! As soon as his legs were long enough to control it, Hiroaki would steal his brother’s motorcycle and set up different situations which usually would result in a trip to A&E, however it would take more than that to deter him from the thrill! His hot-blooded personality gets him into trouble with authorities who want him to stop his stunts, however, he finds himself unable to contain the excitement at these situations. Due to the numerous amount of stunts he’s done, he’s gained a cult following online which is how Hope’s Peak learned of him. Loud, proud, and ready to take any and all dangers, Hiroaki lives a life without fear of death.

Etsuko Hanabusa - Ultimate Choreographer

Gender: Female

Height: 5′7″

Birthday: April 20th

Likes: Lyrical dances

Dislikes: Natural talent

Was captured by: Kotoko

With a cold glare, and sharp tongue, Etsuko Hanabusa is a choreographer who strikes fear into the hearts of dancers all around the country. With a zero-nonsense policy, she won’t take attitude from anybody. Once a talented dancer, she fell victim to an accident where she needed surgery on her legs, leaving her unable to continue dancing. However, she didn’t want to leave her passion, and took it in a different direction: thus she became the choreographer at the dance studio. Using her knowledge, she created beautiful dance one after the other, earning her a golden reputation in the dance community, even choreographing full musicals. However, if you ever try to say she has a natural talent as a choreographer, she will passionately deny it and say she worked hard to get to where she is and that natural talent is an unnecessary shortcut people use to undermine her talent that she honed herself.

#Mod J #mod answer #DR #anon #anon question #mod question

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toongrrl-blog · 4 years ago

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Pink Power Rankings (Pt. 2)

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This is our next segment of “Pink Power Rankings”, I hope to do a few more in the future, including ones centered on the American Girl dolls and the Disney Princesses. The video above is the famous “Think Pink!” musical number from Funny Girl, so without further ado, time to rank these pink moments!

The Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling

This is a show where wrestlers do their thing on a ring bordered by pink ropes, so of course pink is going to come up....a lot. Even when it comes to donuts and abortion ( “I like pink things” “Well if you liked pink things less, you wouldn’t be in this situation”). The show centers on a team of diverse women wrestlers and their manager (Sam Sylvia, played by a hilarious Marc Maron) and producer (closeted Bash Howard, played by the appropriately 80′s Ken lookalike Chris Lowell): struggling actress Ruth (by a charming Alison Brie), former soap opera star and housewife turned wrestler and co-producer Debbie (the talented Betty Gilpin), stuntwoman and coach Cherry (a beautiful turn by Sydelle Noel) and her stunt-double husband Keith (utterly likable Bashir Salahuddin), daughter and sister of wrestlers Carmen (a winsome Britney Young), cheerful Brit Rhonda (the multi-faceted Kate Nash), wolfgirl Sheila (a dry Gayle Rankin), the humorous single mom Tammé (former wrestler Kia Stevens showing off brilliant emotional chops), the outrageous religious Jew Melrose (Fran Drescher lookalike Jackie Tohn), hairdressing kayfabe duo Stacy & Dawn (Kimmy Gatewood and Rebekka Johnson), Indian American bisexual med student Arthie (Sunita Mani a.k.a. the Turn Down For What girl), Olympian and taciturn Reggie (an athletic Marianna Palka), Valley Girl seamstress and former refugee Jenny (the eye-catching Ellen Wong), and the extroverted stripper and breakdancer lesbian Yolanda (a triple-threat Shakira Barerra).

In the Season 2 finale of the show (and as a bid to keep the undocumented Rhonda in the United States) they stage a wedding ceremony for Rhonda where the rest of the wrestlers are wearing pink and gold leotards with ruffled sleeves (how 80s is that), which they integrate into their Vegas show in Season 3. In the first episode of the season, several things go wrong: Debbie and Ruth (in their wrestling roles Liberty Belle and the Soviet Zoya the Destroyer) comment in the local news on the Challenger spaceship launch where the rocket explodes in the air while Ruth is absorbed in her role as the heel, a fire alarm goes off at the casino during dress rehearsal which Jenny blames on her lighting incense to cleanse the atmosphere for the show (turns out to be false to distract from the doldrums of the tragedy), and the girls play on the tables and later have a successful show. A huge up in a show about the ups and downs of show business.

Power Ranking: 8.

The Plastics

“On Wednesdays we wear pink.”

One of the many rules to abide by if you are in North Shore High’s exclusive popular clique, The Plastics. Cady has been homeschooled abroad since she was a child and is transplanted to a surburban high school where it looks like dealing with social dynamics is going to be a lot tougher than knowing what to do if you encounter a lion out in the wilderness. Led by the ruthless and manipulative Regina George, the clique is formed up of girls who are the most privileged and prettiest in the high school (and when you look at it Regina is co-opting the power that comes with being the daughter of the founder of Toaster Strudel or being really pretty) and they keep a Burn Book of all their girl classmates (and one gay guy) where they write insulting things about them. They are quick to punish by calling your mom on the phone and telling her you got some urgent results from Planned Parenthood or by laying claim to your ex-boyfriend. But the leader Regina is a unhappy girl whose mother is more interested in pleasing her than nurturing her and she feels she cannot apply herself to intellectual activities because it’s “uncool” and that she has to be underweight to be the pinnacle of beauty, she belittles the self-worth of her most loyal friends for their intelligence or their popularity and views Cady as competition. Also as Regina learns, the student body is actually afraid of her and they are willing to laugh at her when given the chance.

Power Ranking: 4.

Andie Walsh

I would be remiss not to include the main character of the film titled: Pretty In Pink. Our character is very smart, going places, hard-working, and a fashionista with her signature color (despite the hideous prom dress) and she has been disappointed in love by her richie boyfriend (and being hit on by his sleazebag friend and her childhood friend) and despite the prom look here, she has killer fashion sense. It’s a shame she cut up her maternal figure of a friend’s old 60s (cute) prom dress and another party dress to create this monstrosity.

But she hits this prom to prove to the rich snobs at her school that they haven’t hurt her. And that is power.

Power Ranking: 9.5 (0.5 taken off for hideous prom dress!)

The Pink Ladies

The ultimate Pink clad clique, their pledge is to act cool and to be cool, til death do them part they think pink! They are the all female counterparts to the male T-Birds (the Burger Palace Boys in the original, edgier, musical) and they are interested in subverting the 1950s script for young women...to an extent, to be fair they don’t have a language for subverting respectability but it’s clear often they are mostly dates for the T-Birds. The girls actually do things that were considered shocking for mature women in 1959: they make out and have sex, it’s implied Rizzo gets an abortion (or it was a false positive), they wear pants and shorts, they indulge in the same vices as the boys, they have (gender-appropriate) ambition, multiple romantic partners, talk back to any boys bugging them or remarking on them, pierce their ears (no really women mostly had clip on earrings back then), and they wear clothes for comfort and even clothes that showcase their sex appeal.

But one of them gives Sandy the now problematic behavior, it would have been more subversive if Sandy was encouraged to forget about Danny (which I think she did). But it was the late 1950s and it was hard for a female rebel.

Power Ranking: 8.5.

Taina Morales

The criminally underrated (and short-lived) sitcom Taina centers on a Nuyorican teenager and her family as she attends a performing arts high school as she works her way to becoming a singer and actress. Fushia, not plain pink, was Taina’s color and the color she picks for her Quincenera dress instead of the garish pastel pink ballgown her mother wants her to wear (as tradition). The episode covers the conflict regarding young Latinas and the pull between what mainstream American culture demands (consumerism and individualism by any means necessary) and the culture of their family’s homeland (which is more collective and built on hierarchy and just as shitty for women as individualist “Me first” culture). I want to say this to my non-Latina and non-Latinix readers: me and my sisters are dealing with a lot, we have demands from relatives who only see our age and youth and not the capable people we already are who have us flipping tortillas at 5 or watching younger siblings after school instead of a after-school job or extracurriculars or even hang out with friends and a mainstream culture that demands we all assimilate and be “real Americans”, try to be understanding and supportive.

It’s difficult but you have to set boundaries and assert your vision....lest you be a horror story from Say Yes to the Dress (Atlanta and Bridesmaids).

Power Ranking: 10 (some folks have no idea).

Deb Bradshaw

This is Deb Bradshaw, a resident of Idaho where fashion and tech-wise, everyone is stuck in the 1980s and 1990s and it was the mid-2000s. She sells handicrafts and takes glamour photos to raise funds for college and she hangs out with a couple of teenage boys who are quiet (Rico) or awkward (Napoleon) as she. Right now Napoleon’s sleazy Uncle Rico gives her a ad for breast enhancement supplements on the ruse that Napoleon recommended them for her. What does she do? Cry?

Nope. She calls Napoleon and tells him off for supposedly dissing her appearance, tells him she is content with her figure and he can take those supplements himself. In a time that was pushing girls to be sexy and hot and fun and extroverted to impress guys and where fashion was designed to show off impossibly slim, toned, and busty figures with long legs, it was something special.

Power Ranking: 9.8

Little Jordan Sanders

Once up on a time (the early 1990s) there was a nerdy little girl who felt she wowed her fickle classmates and then a mean girl pulled a prank on her that landed her in to the hospital, from there she vowed she will do the bullying before anyone else bullies her.

So she becomes a nightmare boss whose employees can’t stand her (to the point where they are listening to relaxation tapes saying “So you want to slap your boss”) and she forbids carbs in her workplace as she doesn’t eat them. She gets confronted by a little girl with a magic wand who puts a spell on her that doesn’t seem to take but then Jordan wakes up in her preteen body again and has to attend middle school all over again where she gets bullied.

So what does Jordan do? She arms herself with a huge Birkin bag and a pink power suit with a white plaid pattern and makes her way to school and manages to corrupt her new tween friends with her cynical world view. But at some point she embraces her inner geek girl and wakes up an adult woman again.

Power Ranking: 7, it’s a front but a fabulous front.

Midge Maisel

This is the night that Midge would have been made for life....and the night where she burns a bridge with a friend and puts her’s and her manager Susie’s future in jeopardy.

So after starting a career in stand up after her husband leaves her for his mediocre secretary, Midge gets to perform stand up at the famous Apollo theater before pop singer Shy Baldwin’s concert (part of his cross-country tour), this is the community he grew up in and where the local middle-aged mothers bake him goodies so he’d be persuaded to date their daughters. But Midge, a privileged Jewish American woman, is a fish out of water amongst the mostly African American audience and performers.

So she starts to make jokes about Shy’s stage persona and hints at him being a closeted gay man which all bring down the house and impress the audience (and keep the Wop Wop Man at bay)....but then Shy’s manager reveals they have kicked her out from the tour for what she has done. For once the fabulous but thoughtless Midge has faced the consequences of her actions.

Power Ranking: 10, she made an impact alright.

Meg Griffin

By far more the least empowered woman on this list or the list before (even more than Barb who got killed by a monster), Meg Griffin started Family Guy as a ordinary teenage girl who wasn’t popular at school but was assured of love from her then-loving, but dysfunctional and nutty family. Then after a brief cancellation and protests brought the show back, the show and even her family (along with the whole community) started bashing her and calling her “ugly” or dissing her for her weight to the point where the show was being (rightfully) accused of misogyny. Meg so far has had her father fart in her face, her mother try to seduce her boyfriend and leave her pills to potentially OD on, her obese brother gets popular and doesn’t invite her to his party because she doesn’t fit a narrow “boob to butt ratio” (seems like Family Guy hates body fat on women unless it’s on their boobs), her baby brother loves to feed off her tears and to her face told her to become bulimic, and her family dog tells her that God doesn’t exist because she has a shitty family (complete with a Mom he lusts after) and she has “a flat chest and a fat ass”.

Also this “pink condom hat” wearing teen is dished crap by the writers because they claim not to have knowledge of writing teenage girls, gee what could be an improvement on that problem?

Is it any wonder that this girl may have violent episodes?

Power Ranking: 1 (most of the time).

Quinn Morgendorffer

From day one pink has been a color that Quinn wore and while she updated her late 90s baby tee look with deeper colors and modest cuts, pink has remained a primary color. Actually pink has been her preferred color since childhood, her color for school dances, for camping trips, what she wears as a Mommy/Beauty vlogger, the color for the background Jane uses for her abstract portrait of Quinn,

Quinn’s motivation is to be the most attractive and popular girl around, likely stemming from her father’s trait of needing people to pay attention to him, and coincidentally pink is what helps her fit in with her parents and helps her stand out from the Fashion Club, and it helps her align with the late 1990s standard of beauty and femininity (also somewhat aided by her grandmother) that prizes long, shiny, bouncy hair and a teeny weeny nose with microscopic pores, and a fat free (except for the boobs) body over intelligence and substance. This serves to set her apart from her sister Daria, who decides to go against the role. Which is sad because Quinn is very witty and savvy with a gift for fashion analysis and the sisters show a propensity for getting along much better than their mother did with her sisters.

Later in the series, she starts maturing and leans more into her intellectual gifts, thus her jeans and shirt get deeper in color and flaunt her slender mid-section less (they still show the outline of her silhouette). She starts pulling away from her shallow clique and deals with a new friend with alcoholism (not much of a resolution at the end), thankfully somewhat like her sister, she can provide kinship over (cheeseless) pizza and diet soda.

Power Ranking: 10, Family Guy writers take notes.

Daria Morgendorffer

Pink is the color of mortification for Daria. She is the only member of her family to not have a pinkish or reddish tone in her coloring (unless you count her traditional orange shirt under her green blazer and black skirt, something that calls to her mother’s power suit) and femininity seems forced on her. In fact the only time pink was used as a power move was when she used it to convince her sister to stop being a pseudo-intellectual by dressing up like her.

In this image from the tie-in book The Daria Diaries, we see that a younger Daria is dressed up in a high-necked and puff-sleeved nightmare of a pin dress that looks so infantile, that likely Helen forced on her (Quinn would never pick that, no matter how mad Quinn is she would never make someone wear something if she didn’t think it was flattering), and while her mother and sister are in yellow-toned frills that closely matched their tastes, Daria stands apart glum and wishing someone would save her from this fashion emergency.

Power Ranking: 4, just loose the collar at least?

Glinda the Good Witch of the North

The Good (but slightly bitchy) Witch of the North is the representative for how powerful pink can be in 1939 (or rather any time because Oz operates outside our world). She is the guardian (was she battling the Wicked Witches of the East and West for supremacy while the Munchkins were terrorized? Gosh a lot of WWII allegories here) of Oz played by the closeted Bisexual and hilarious Billie Burke, she is good but not above encouraging munchkins to sing about how happy they are that the wicked witch is dead. While munchkins run around scared when the Wicket Witch of the West shows up to corner Dorothy and get the ruby slippers back, Glinda cooly plans on snatching the slippers and poofing them on Dorothy’s feet and drops shade on the Witch.

But Glinda is one to remind the characters (and the audience) that they needed to discover the power within them to achieve their goals and come out the other end stronger, no one can make you believe that.

Power Ranking: 10, this look is so iconic.

Kim McAfee

Truly an iconic pink look and not bad for a role where Ann-Margret makes her big break. The teenage Kim MacAfee, member of the Conrad Birdie fan club, gets pinned and is chosen to kiss Conrad during his farewell concert before he leaves for the army. Quite the glow up! But she has to deal with a jealous boyfriend who doesn’t want Conrad around (probably because he can’t make her scream and faint) and her feelings of “I don’t need him but I really want him with me”. This outfit was stunning and meant to convey a lot in 1963: it’s pants, it’s Schiaparelli Pink rather than a dainty pastel like she wears here, it shows off her figure, she sings about kissing men from Yale to Purdue while Conrad and her boyfriend Hugo sing about hot chicks and they all sing about having a lot of living to do. Of course Hugo leaves and she is distraught, up to the point where she kisses Conrad Birdie and Hugo sucker punches him in front of a live audience. She happily ends up with Hugo and wishes Birdie well, as opposed to when she is devastated over him heading to the army (is it no accident the sexists from Mad Men like the first version?).

Power Ranking: 9.5, truly iconic and the outfit to wear when you attempt to be a sexually liberated woman who doesn’t need a possessive man.

Caroline Brooks

Speaking of big breaks, this is the film where Esther Williams (the codifier for swimming musicals and synchronized swimming) makes her big break in a iconic career and it was quite an impressive entrance. And then starts a decade-long career of water ballet musicals and swimwear, the film isn’t remarkable for it’s plot (enjoyable rom-com) but for the impressive swimming sequences that show off Esther’s athletic skills (she was eligible for the 1940 Olympics). That is a way to make an impact with pink.

Power Ranking: 20.

Courtney Gripling

Who’s the girl in the pink capris?

It’s Courtney, it’s Courtney!

This song was sung two times in the show and it tells you a lot about the inner workings of a sweet but sheltered and often insensitive Middle School Queen (for measure, she sings this in a sparkly dress at a friend’s 13th birthday party, friend doesn’t mind though). Courtney would definitely be the kind of girl who’d wear white to a (Western) wedding.

Pink (or peach or lavender or blue or cream) has been a signature color for Courney since the very beginning: it was the color of her pajamas, she told Ginger she looks really good in the color when she borrows sleepwear from the girl, she wore “Popular In Peach” nail polish for her exams the semester before, and she even wore the color of skirt and blouse she wore when she got bullied in high school and learned her family was losing their McMansion and their money (even her port-a-potty was pink with baroque gild). It highlights her delicate and privileged background, like lace or fine china, it will get spoiled.

So this girl, who got by with people being hired to do her homework and sung about herself at another person’s birthday party and had a talent show performance where she and her friends wore blonde wigs and matching costumes (with face masks of herself), the girl who was shocked to find out summer camps don’t have masseuses, the girl who wore platform sandals in the winter, or that Mom losing her platinum card is not the catastrophe she thinks it is.....suddenly finds her family in poverty after her father was caught doing white collar crime.

So sad, she was always better than Ivanka.

Power Ranking: 6.5, glorious look and character but not likely to be invited to anybody’s wedding in the future.

Cher Horowitz

It’s fitting the premier teen fashionista of Beverly Hills undergoes her enlightenment and makes up with her friend in a matching pink preppy ensemble. Cher Horowitz (despite clearly taking some lead from her BFF Dionne’s more sophisticated and colorful take on Bev Hills fashion) has been a trendsetter in-universe and at the time the film came out.

Before the film came out, fashion was inspired by grunge or still stuck in the late 1980s or dominated by neon colors and power dressing and or mixing and matching, then the costume designer for the film (Mona May) decided on taking a twist on the preppy look, while keeping some sportiness and the colors of the time (even nodding to Beverly Hills 90210). May subtly updated looks that Sally Draper and Nancy Wheeler would have worn and for the rest of the decade teen girls were sporting mary janes, plaid, collars, floaty dresses, pastels, stripes, and knee socks.

At the start of the film, Cher thinks she knows it all and she is the most popular girl in her school....she doesn’t really know it all (she’s Clueless). She does aspire to be more and do more (and sometimes plagued by insecurity) and takes new grunge girl Tai under her wing and gives her a makeover that makes her look like a shorter, redhaired, and curvier clone of Cher herself until Tai gets swollen in the head and Cher realizes she loves her ex-stepbrother Josh. After an argument, a humbled Tai (in a style that combines the preppy femininity she learned in Beverly Hills and her skater geek inclinations that manages to hold well into the mid 2000s) makes up with her and they watch Tai’s love interest shred out.

Here we see Cher in her feminine prep but the casual look and the prints help her empathize with the crowd on the grass.

Power Ranking: 9.

Miss Piggy

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.

The ultimate diva in pink, with all her charms, cannot attract Kermit the Frog and the woman who assured at least one generation of girls that they don’t need to be slender princesses to be the leading lady. Before Elle Woods, Miss Piggy came in with blown out wings and curls and in pink outfits assured of her own place in show business and of her own beauty and especially during an era when society was learning (slowly) to accept other forms of female personality and challenging gender roles. She was a revolutionary clad in the style of women of the Golden Age of Hollywood and made a mark for more body inclusivity in entertainment and transcended the girly girl/tomboy dichotomy that had been around to enforce stereo-typically feminine behavior and set up women to compete against one another.

Power Ranking: 10.

Blossom

Sugar. Spice. Everything Nice. Chemical X. These are the things that created a trio of super-powered kindergartners, the leader wearing a large red bow over her long red locks and has a pink dress (and improbably large pink-colored eyes). These girls had to save their city from monsters and evil villains while attending Kindergarten and making time for their playroom. Blossom was Miss Perfect personified: cute, long pretty hair, perfect grades, ladylike behavior, intellectual, emotionally mature (she acted more 10 years old rather than her actual age of being born in a 5 year old’s body); but being Miss Perfect can make you blind to the resentment of others (she is rather bossy) and being liked and holding that as the standard could let you get run over. It’s fortunate that Blossom is learning how to advocate for herself and break the rules to save the day (like beating up evil senior citizens) now rather than at 14, 17, 24, 32.....

Power Ranking: 11.

Renee Bennett

Renee Bennett (as played by Amy Schumer) is insecure about living in a world that seems to stop for women fitting a narrow standard of beauty, which doesn’t concern her as far as she’s concerned. Now Renee wears pink a few times in the film, highlighting her femininity and desire to be universally beautiful. She happens to make a wish to be beautiful during a rainstorm and the next day, she goes to Soul Cycle where she falls off a bike, hair gets caught in the bike and she hits her head and wakes up seeing a different person in the mirror.

Now she walks around the world as if she was confident in being one of the most beautiful women in the room, if not the world. Suddenly her clothes show more skin, they are more twee (the bright colors and pastels), she’s taking huge fashion risks, and participating in bikini contests. Of course every film high hits a low where the protagonist’s ego is swollen, her friends feel alienated and later she bonks her head and believes she is back in her old body and no one has seen how “hideous” she is. Later she finds the confidence to “come out” as she is (as far as others are concerned, she hasn’t changed her looks too much).

Power Ranking: 7.5

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5questions · 8 years ago

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BELLA BRAVO

Bio: Bella Bravo was born in San Diego, CA in 1987. She is a writer living in Bloomington, IN.

What writing or other projects are you working on currently?

Currently, I am converting my story “Public Figures” into a play. A couple of years ago I converted a very short segment of text, which was mostly dialogue of a pizza delivery person recounting a strange experience, into a skit. A friend also wrote a skit from a story of his, and we performed them in a rec room at community center, so the audience was sitting and standing among the actors. The whole experience was so fun. Then, earlier this year, I adapted another story into a longer, one-act production, adding props, lighting and sound effects, and multiple sets.

This creative process gives me a second way into the story, like a back door, because the actors help workshop the script. They ask questions about the characters’ lives, and so I get to tell them things that didn’t make the final cut of the story. They improvise phrasing, so the lines sound how they imagine the characters speak. It’s so cool to see them embody these characters that have been living with me (in my head) for so long.

Writing is normally such a solitary practice for me, whereas this is a community effort in every way. This month I’ll start reading through the script with the performers (wonderful actors from a local troupe called Sitcom Theater) and the musician who is writing a score (Jon Meador of Saintseneca and Kleinerwasserbär). It’s rejuvenating to finish a story and then follow other people’s ideas as they extrapolate from it.

Your recent single story chapbook Public Figures, along with your past collection The Unpositioned Parts, put some of the focus on the fringes of society. It isn't like a lot of the world of mainstream fiction, especially in this manner. What books or experiences influenced your development of this kind of focus in your work?

I feel like by fringe, maybe you mean, what my grandma would call “open.”[1] My grandma always says, “It’s important to be open.” Her gesture for that axiom is bringing her fingers softly to the corners of her eyes and guiding her hands out as though demonstrating nearly 180 degree vision, “open, not closed.” She has large brown eyes. I feel drawn to “openness”, spaces and experiences where I can have a wide outlook where the boundary is not closed. Let’s see examples of open experiences would be queerness, gratitude, crime, becoming, hope, communism. I guess I’m fine with opening boundaries as well. I write from experience, usually from a place or visual image stuck in my head. I think a sense of abandonment is a theme connecting many of those incidents or images. My family felt like an open container; I always felt exposed, a little to the side of their primary concerns. I tend to feel more at home or more confident in negative spaces or spaces that lack definition—absences. I think that’s where the focus on fringe or openness comes from.

Your prose has a heavy sense of control, with a strong feeling of power in the story and the kind of step-by-step way that sentences build up this huge staircase of words and narrative, where you end up really high and then you maybe fall off or make peace with being so high. Who are writers you really like for the craft of their prose? What really draws you in most to the works that you like the most?

For craft inspo, I read short-short fiction. Thrifty writers like Grace Paley, Italo Calvino, Lydia Davis, Donald Barthleme and Sophie Calle know how make the most of a syllable. I think of a given text as a closed economy. Its fundamental principle is circulation; stagnation is expiration. These writers experiment with different patterns to modulate the dynamism of a story, but every word, punctuation mark gives the story at hand energy.

I tend to rely on incremental escalation, like a staircase pattern, because that’s what I do in legal writing as well. In legal writing, I have a rule of one new fact per sentence, which gives the text a slow and consistent building momentum. It’s easy to control. (Humor often relies on this same incremental escalation, and I think all of the above artists write hilarious prose.)

I love also poetry for its excesses and gaps. When I read Bhanu Kapil and Anne Boyer I feel like there is so much that I don't understand. I love how they use poetics to expand the genres of memoir and social critique, blurring them into one another. I keep a copy of Ariana Reines’s Mercury on my nightstand. She harmonizes within the complexity of gender, existence and species, in some moments with five-word lines surrounded by a blank page. Her writing is intricate and strong like a healed burn.

What's your day-to-day life like? Do you live in Indiana or did you just go to school there? What do you think about Indiana?

Let’s see, I sit a lot, ha. I’m a deputy public defender in Bloomington and I write, so much of my day passes seated behind my desk, in a courtroom or at my dining room table. In terms of the workday-to-workday, it’s my job to defend people from criminal penalty zealously. I have a complicated relationship to my work. For the most part, I defend indigent people against State prosecution. This is an easy position for me, because I don’t believe in prisons, police or the State. My job gets difficult emotionally when I know my client has hurt someone or when I can’t figure out a way to prevent a penalty that I think is particularly unfair. Many of my cases deal with the same conduct and circumstances, and that’s a consequence of the nature of criminal law, where the legislature has identified and proscribed specific behaviors. This pattern forces the facts of my clients’ lives to bleed together. I learn private details about my clients’ lives shortly after meeting them, but I try to respect the narrowness of my glimpses. I’m humbled by my job, because my clients have a lot of confidence in me from the very beginning. Fear and anxiety are excellent motivators for dependence and bonding. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, I feel grateful to be a public site for trust.

I moved from Salt Lake City, Utah to Bloomington to go to law school in 2009. Like 60 percent of Salt Lake County residents (approximate), I was raised in the Mormon Church. Many of my family are still practicing members, and it wasn’t until I left Utah and moved to Indiana that I realized how culturally isolated and cultish my childhood was. Shortly after I first moved here, I remember feeling shocked when I saw an undergrad, like a typical university student, smoking a cigarette on a public sidewalk. Salt Lake was such a sterile place, both physically and socially. To me in 2009, smoking was something weirdos and disestablishment folks do, not something for college kids. Indiana has become my archetype for the U.S., and that’s just because it’s my primary contrast to Utah, which is not representative of anywhere else. That estimate was validated unfortunately by the election. I don’t feel much affinity for Indiana at this point.

That said, Indiana has many wonderful people. Bloomington is a small commercial center for south-central Indiana. I’m lucky to live here with a group of compassionate and thoughtful social heretics who have been drawn to Bloomington for various reasons, some from other parts of Indiana, some from other parts of the U.S., and some from other parts of the world.

Fuck this Midwest humidity though. My body was meant for the desert.

A lot of artists and writers have had calls to action or predictions that art/literature in America will change greatly in this new era after the recent election of Trump. Could you or do you see your own work changing? I guess all writing will change at least contextually, although all writing is also always changing contextually.

You make a good point that art is contextual. I think resonance comes from historical patterns as they repeat and shift over time. The election angers me because it demonstrates a resurgence of far-right populism in the West. These trends are so dangerous as they build momentum. America has always been racist, but now anti-immigrant and Blue Lives Matter sentiments are the rally cries of a fascist platform and that platform will be publicly-funded first-term agenda. Many of my family members are immigrants who have practiced—with varying degrees of predictability—cyclic migration, living in both aboard and the States. The father who raised me is a cop. My mom voted for Trump and Pence. Since the election, I’ve had dreams—at night and during the day—where I scream at the top of my lungs in my mom’s kitchen and all nine of her small dogs mill around my feet. I think anger and absurdity will resonate over these next 8 years, lbh. I’m selfishly excited for a resurgence of punk.

Though, I think climate change will have a greater impact on my work and experiences over the next decade. Having an immediate environmental catastrophe will make explaining what I’m doing—writing, touring, gardening, developing relationships with many levels of intimacy—and not doing with my life—having kids, marriage, and a path to salvation—easier when I visit my mom. Last Christmas, she asked me when I think I’ll have kids, so I brought up an article about millennials are mostly having children out of wedlock. Over the next few years, higher energy storms will cause greater levels of damage to the coasts, fresh water will become a scarcer commodity, and both will cause higher prices at Costco, so I feel like we’ll mostly talk about that instead.

[1] They have complementary definitions: “of an outer edge; margin; periphery,” and “allowing access, passage; not closed or blocked up.”

#bella bravo #monster house press #costco #christmas #anti-fascism #fascism #midwest #bloomington #grace paley #italo calvino #andrew duncan worthington

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thecomicsnexus · 5 years ago

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BATMAN #386-387, DETECTIVE COMICS #553 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1985 BY DOUG MOENCH, TOM MANDRAKE, KLAUS JANSON AND ADRIENNE ROY

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

Roman Sionis is born to wealthy parents Charles Sionis and his unnamed mother, then immediately dropped on his head by the doctor. This small event turned Roman's life as he grew up as a "different" kid. During his early years, his parents were more focused on their "masks", with his father more concerned about the press photos and his mother more concerned with her makeup. They decided not to sue the doctor who dropped Roman because they did not want their names muddied by a common lawsuit. Growing up Roman witnessed his family put on "masks" of normalcy to impress their socialite friends, such as Thomas and Martha Wayne. He grew to despise these encounters and the way his parents forced him to act. At the age of 12 his family went on a vacation in the woods. He had seen a cartoon about a friendly raccoon and he tried to pet one in the wild, viewing it as a friend because it also wore a "mask". The raccoon had rabies and bit him. He nearly died, stumbling around the woods for hours calling for his parents. The chauffeur eventually found him and saved his life.

When Roman reached adulthood, he was made Vice President of his father's company Janus Cosmetics. He fell in love with a model named Circe and promised that she would become the face of the company. His parents were outraged at him sleeping with a "common model" and insisted they would have her fired. Roman put on a "mask" of acceptance, but the following summer he set his parents' mansion on fire and burned them both to death. Commissioner Gordon had him investigated as a suspect, but Circe was his alibi. Like this, Roman became the President of Janus Cosmetics the next day and fired the public relations division to fill their offices with an apartment for himself and Circe. He devoted an entire room to collecting bizarre masks from around the world.

His first initiative as President of Janus was to drop their "invisible" cosmetics and instead focus on boldly colored makeup that would act like a liquid mask. This was a huge financial failure that lost many of their customers. His next move was pushing an experimental waterproof makeup that hadn't been properly tested. The makeup was found to bond with people's faces and then make their skin peel off, causing hundreds of lawsuits. Roman proposed marriage to Circe, but with his company verging on bankruptcy she decided to leave him instead.

Janus Cosmetics was bailed out by the Wayne Foundation and Lucius Fox explained their one condition was that Roman step down as President. Signing away his company was the final straw, and Roman snapped. He went to the mausoleum where his parents were buried and smashed their ebony coffins open with a giant rock. Looking at the "mask of death" that was his father's decomposing flesh, he began to laugh. Taking a large shard of the broken coffin, he carved it into a mask for himself.

Several days later, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock investigate a break-in at Roman's former apartment. Roman has stolen back his money, his guns, his collection of masks, and the experimental makeup that ruined him. He uses the money to hire two local criminals, having them meet at his parents' mausoleum as the "False Face Society of Gotham". They are both given masks, and he names them Thespis and Tupeng. There is a crimewave in Gotham over the next month as Sionis continues to recruit new False Faces. Eventually Batman beats one of them until he gives up the name of his boss, calling him "Black Mask." Batman, Gordon, and Bullock are called to a crime scene. The new chairman of Janus Cosmetics under the Wayne Foundation has been found dead and wearing a pig mask. Black Mask used his poisonous makeup inside the mask to make it lethal on his victim, eating away the skin of the victim's face. Batman makes the connection that Black Mask must be Roman Sionis. Elsewhere, Black Mask tells his False Faces that their next target will be Bruce Wayne.

Black Mask has gathered more members for his False Face Society and their crime wave has increased, already claiming the second life of another member of the corporate board that was appointed by the Wayne Foundation to take control of Janus Cosmetics. While the events only confirms Batman's suspicion that Black Mask, the new self-proclaimed crimelord of Gotham, is in fact Roman Sionis; the news also mean that the Wayne Foundation assets over Janus Cosmetics hang on a thread.

Around the same time, a new acting Mayor is appointed after Hamilton Hill's forced resignation and Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock give the new Mayor the proper welcome, making it clear who is in charge. Meanwhile, Black Mask continues his killing spree of Wayne Foundation executives and he has appointed two members of the False Face Society to follow Bruce Wayne on every public appearance. Bruce realizes he is being followed during a Wayne Foundation ceremony in which he goes with Julia Pennyworth as his date.

The next day, Black Mask and his thugs kidnap Circe, the former model of Janus Cosmetics and Black Mask disfigures her face with his corrosive chemical compound, forcing her to use a mask to hide the hideousness of her once beautiful face. In the meantime, Bruce Wayne goes to the movies with Jason Todd and after they exit the movie theater, they split to confuse the False Facers following them. The criminals decide to follow Bruce Wayne into the subway, where they are confronted by Batman and on their escape attempt they are stopped by Robin. The heroes capture the crooks, but they are unable to learn anything from them since they didn't have direct contact with Black Mask. Like this, the hunt for Black Mask continues as well as Black Mask's quest to eliminate Bruce Wayne.

Hoping to lure Black Mask into a trap, Bruce Wayne organizes a masquerade ball in Wayne Manor and sends out invitations to Roman Sionis. Bruce knows that Sionis won't be able to resist the temptation of attending the party and Black Mask assumes that Bruce wouldn't expect him to go. Like this the set-up is arranged the the plan is set in motion.

During the party, there are several guests, some of which are part of the plan like Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock and some that are not, like Vicki Vale, who just showed up at the party to show off her new athletic body to Bruce. Eventually, Alfred and Bruce learn which of the guests is Sionis and when Bruce confronts him, Sionis attempts to murder Bruce, but fails and is forced to escape.

While Bruce remains at the party to allay suspicions from the guests, Robin follows Sionis after he escapes from Wayne Manor and he tracks down the criminal to the Gotham Cemetery, where he notices Sionis entering his family crypt. Robin calls Batman and a few moments later, the Dark Knight joins the kid before they go to the criminal's hideout. Before reaching the crypt, the heroes are attacked by the False Face Society, but they defeat all of them without any trouble. When they reach the crypt, Black Mask gives them the slip by using a secret underground escape route.

Batman and Robin then follow Black Mask in the Batmobile to the abandoned Sionis Family State, where they have to confront more False Facers before getting to Black Mask, who is in his childhood room and is burning all of his belongings in order to "kill" Roman Sionis. The heroes once again defeat the crooks, but the fire started by Black Mask has gone out of control. When the heroes attemp to stop Black Mask, the crook tries to escape through the fire he started and Batman prevents his escape with a Batrope. Unfortunately, Black Mask's face lands on the fire and by the time Batman and Robin are able to pull him out, the damage has been done. When Batman removes the mask from Sionis' face, there is no difference as the shape of the mask has been charred into his skin, giving him a permanent black mask.

Afterwards, Sionis is taken to Arkham Asylum, where he is only visited by Circe, the model he disfigured, but she only goes to give him back her mask, as she won't need it any longer.

REVIEW

I am conflicted by the story. It definitely works as a Batman villain story, but I feel like there was more potential for the concept of the “false face”. This is not a villain with multiple personalities. He is just a psychopath that wants to get revenge by becoming a different persona. But he is clearly in control of who he is. And I don’t know, I would have gone with a different way of getting revenge. Just killing the directors of Wayne Foundation doesn’t really take you that far. I think the proper revenge for him, would have been to show the world that the people they think they know, are completely fake. That would have made more sense with the big backstory we got in the first issue of this trilogy.

On the other hand, there are a lot of parallels with Bruce Wayne’s journey into becoming the Batman. But this ultimately doesn’t pay off.

Now, these are optional paths the story could have taken, but that didn’t happen. So, to me, what we actually got, is good. Just not excellent.

Tom Mandrake is an artist that doesn’t make me interested in the stories he is in. I think it was ok, and at this point in his career, his art wasn’t THAT moody. I could still recognize him without looking at the credits, though.

The real sin in this story, is the way Moench handled Vicky Vale, trying to make everyone jealous of her body. Poor Vicky Vale.

I give this story a score of 8

#dc comics #comics #review #1985 #modern age #black mask #batman80 #batman #vicky vale #detective comics #tom mandrake #klaus janson

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mattkennard · 8 years ago

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Inside Bedford: a fragile success story of multiculturalism, home of Yarl's Wood

Published: Open Democracy (5 April 2017)

A couple of miles north of the outskirts of Bedford lies the most controversial of Britain’s many immigration removal centres, Yarl’s Wood. At the back of a business park stranded in the middle of the Bedfordshire countryside, it is one of Europe’s largest immigration facilities, holding 410 people, mostly women and families, awaiting deportation from the UK. Getting in as a journalist is next to impossible, but during visiting hours I go through the metal detector tests with a pen and pad to meet Mabel Gawanas who has been detained in Yarl’s Wood for nearly three years, the longest serving detainee. An orphan, she fled Namibia after a childhood of awful abuse and violence. But Yarl’s Wood is not a happy place. “I long for peace,” she tells me. The mother of two continues: “I want to be a mother, I want to be normal, to live a normal life like everyone else. I want to be a human rights lawyer to help other people in my position. I want to study more.”

Yarl’s Wood has attracted streams of protesters to the Twinwoods Business Park over the years. A recent protest drew up to 2,000 campaigners. Mabel says her only interaction with the city nearby, however, is when she is taken to Bedford hospital for a medical emergency. “But in Bedford hospital they don’t treat detainees properly, they want to get them out quickly. I was taken there in handcuffs."

Bedford, which is home to 170,000 people, is a strange location for Yarl’s Wood to be placed because it is actually one of the most diverse cities in England: the different colours and cultures you see walking around it remind of London.

Bedford borough is one of the most diverse authorities in the east of England, with up to 100 different ethnic groups living within its boundaries. The most recent census found that 28.5% of the population was Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), with significantly higher proportion of Other White and Asian people than the rest of England. At the Bedford Swan hotel which sits on the river cutting the city in half, Joanna Kazmierczak works as a waitress in the morning buffet. Originally from the Polish seaport of Szczecin, she has lived in the UK since 2012, first in Peterborough and then Bedford for work. “It’s a very quiet city but it’s not too bad,” she tells me. “The people are friendly and nice. If someone likes a quiet place then it’s a good place to live.”

Race relations in diverse Bedford might not be as good as pitched, she says. “Myself, I didn’t get any racism, nothing, but I heard too many stories in Bedford about attacks on Polish people or Asian people.” But do the immigrant communities get on well together? Do the immigrants get on well together? "No. There is, like, Polish together, Asian together, they don’t want to be all immigrants together, this thing doesn’t happen ever.”

Bedford itself, despite its diversity and progressive history on immigration, voted Leave in the EU referendum by a margin of 51.8% to 48.1%. But the Brexit vote doesn’t scare her. “Actually, I don’t think it will be too much change for people who are already here. People who are here 5 years already, working, studying, they don’t need to be scared about anything, maybe it will change who come here now. There is a big Polish community here.” At the market in downtown Bedford, Ali Asadi, a 21-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, sits selling carpets and household essentials. “I like Bedford a lot, it’s nice and clean with good people and it’s a quiet place as well,” he tells me. “Lots of nice people here, I’m quite happy living here. These are good people here, they gave us respect, and they respect other cultures as well.” He says he didn’t vote in the EU referendum because he wasn’t registered, but if he was he would have voted remain. For him Bedford is the ideal place to live. “I feel like I will stay here forever now, it feels like home now,” he tells me. “I am used to Bedford now, I have been to other places but I prefer Bedford to the rest. I went to London as well but I like Bedford more.” Asadi came from Afghanistan in 2009 at the height of the occupation by US and UK troops. His parents were already in Bedford but he managed to join them.

“There is a big Afghani community here, there are quite a lot of people here in Bedford from Afghanistan.” Why? I ask. Bedford seems like an odd place to coalesce around. “I don’t know, maybe because we like to stay together and live together, and have a good community. There’s people in London as well but not as much as Bedford, we have a lot of people in Bedford."

Bedford’s most famous immigrant community is from Italy. The city is dotted with Italian restaurants with locals still speaking Italian at the tables. There are Italian delis, social clubs and flags fluttering. The city even has its own Italian Consulate. About 14,000 Italian descendant people live in the city, mainly because after the Second World War the local Marston Valley Brick Company needed workers as it produced for the post-war reconstruction. The company recruited in the work-starved villages of southern Italy between 1951 and the early 1960s. More than 7,500 men were brought over to Bedford.

A significant amount of men were also recruited by the Brick Company from the Punjab region of India. Descendants of that wave of immigration now constitute about 8% of the population. Since the early 2000s there has been a high number of immigrants from eastern Europe. I find Wajeeha Rana, 34, is reading a book in Urdu in Bedford Central Library. “It’s a novel from a very famous author, her name is Umera Ahmed, it’s a book from here, they have a good world literature selection,” she tells me. Rana moved to Bedford in September after visiting the city for a number of years because her husband is from Bedford. Previously in Malaysia, she was born in Pakistan. “Bedford is a well integrated community,” she says. “There is a big a Pakistani community here. They give a lot of opportunity to everybody, they do a lot of programs for different groups.”

She says she doesn’t encounter racism. “There are actually a lot of halal food places you can go and eat. It’s a good place to be, in fact, I’ve heard a lot of people are moving from London to Bedford, it’s much more affordable. They say it’s because obviously London has become really expensive, and Bedford is more commutable. So they are moving over here and there’s a multicultural community here as well."

She continued: “We recently met someone (from Pakistan) who had moved from Ilford to Bedford because their husband got a job over here and they are doing very well over here actually. It’s a good option for a lot of people. And even a lot of white people too, their community moved over here from London just for that reason. And we spoke to a few estate agents as well, and they are saying that a lot of people are coming over here, moving over here.”

Peter Redman is selling vacuum cleaner bags at Bedford market. He voted out in the EU referendum. “Why not have a change?” he asks. “We’re called Great Britain why can’t we be great again instead of Europe basically telling us what to do, set our own laws, tell them to stuff it really.” “I didn’t like the Brexit campaign, I didn’t the mudslinging, or the shitslinging. No just Farage, it’s Conservative, Labour, Lid Dems, they are all a bunch of wankers, they are all a bunch of wankers.” But he states his vote had nothing to do with immigration. “Nothing at all. It was done on Dispatches, they did something about Europeans coming over here doing lettuce picking, and they had a British bloke doing, and the farmer said the European done, the English one picks about 10 lettuces an hour and the European a 100 so who do you employ? The English bloke kept on stopping to have a fag because he was knackered.”

Redman was born in a little Bedfordshire village called Turvey and now lives in another village called Harrold just outside Bedford. He comes into Bedford three days a week for work on the stall. I say that Bedford seems to be successfully integrated. “It’s working but you still get the odd arsehole,” he says; “There’s good and bad in everybody.”

Redman was a firefighter in Bedfordshire for 33 years before getting injured and taking retirement early. “I don’t make any money out of it. This has been on Bedford market for over 42 years and I had the chance because I have the money in my bank from my lump sum, the bloke got to 74 years old and he thought he had enough of it, so I bought it off him.” What does he think of Yarl’s Wood? “Technically, one, it shouldn’t have been built in the first place, two, it should have been built differently, so they couldn’t set fire to it, so it didn’t risk not only security lives, but firefighter lives, plus as well as police officers’ lives.” But, he adds, “If the people up there don’t like it, go back to your own country. You’re getting fed, watered, bedded, for nothing, and I’m paying for it, it’s coming out of my council tax. But if can prove that you’ve got the right to stay here and you’ve got no criminal record or any other crap luggage in your other country where you come from, then stay. But if you’re naughty boy or naughty girl, piss off back. Is that fair enough?” Bedford has quietly become one of the most positive stories of integration and immigration in England, but it is riven with contradictions. From the Brexit vote to Yarl's Wood looming presence on its outskirts, Bedford is a warning that multicultural England is still precarious.

#immigration #bedford #multiculturalism #brexit

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eddycurrents · 6 years ago

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For the week of 23 July 2018

Quick Bits:

A Walk Through Hell #3 showcases several times just how good Goran Sudžuka is an artist. His character reactions and facial expressions are among the best in the industry, achieving so much with a brevity of line. Amazing work.

| Published by AfterShock

Amazing Spider-Man #2 continues to set up the new/old status quo for Peter and his supporting cast. I think, ultimately, I like this issue more than the first due to there not being all of the contrived loss this time around, instead working more to build the new in Peter’s life. Great art form Ryan Ottley, Cliff Rathburn, and Laura Martin.

| Published by Marvel

Bedtime Games #2 gets more into the meat of the story, transforming from a simple childhood excursion into more outright horror and supernatural territory. I love how Nick Keller and Conor Nolan are presenting the manipulation and manifestation of a kid’s dreams and nightmares, with his spiel meaning one thing to a child, whereas it would likely be interpreted entirely differently to adults. Great art from Nolan and Kelly Fitzpatrick.

| Published by Dark Horse

Blackwood #3 deals with the fallout of Dennis’ death as the faculty and students of Blackwood continue to try to piece together what’s put them in this mess. Great art from Veronica and Andy Fish.

| Published by Dark Horse

Bone Parish #1 is the incredible debut of this new crime/horror series from Cullen Bunn, Jonas Scharf, and Alex Guimaráes. It’s an interesting hook of voodoo and drugs, creating a product from the bones of the dead that causes you to apparently experience the memories of the dead. Bunn crafts some interesting characters here in the Winters family, and Scharf and Guimaráes’ is spot on darkness and mood bringing this world to life. This is a really good fix.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Britannia: Lost Eagles of Rome #1 returns with the beginning of a new mystery, with Robert Gill, José Villarrubia, and Diego Rodriguez taking over the art chores while Peter Milligan continues the story. I like the set up, with three legions ambushed and their standards stolen, clues being hinted at an inside job pointing at a possible plot against the Emperor, Nero, or just a means to greedy ends of former Legionaries now in Egypt.

| Published by Valiant

Descender #32 is a beautiful end to this series, bittersweet as all machine life is taken...somewhere, setting up part of the premise as the story will continue into the new Ascender series next year. Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen pretty much have a masterpiece on their hands here, gorgeous artwork and a heartwrenching story.

| Published by Image

Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate #3 is worth it just for the modrons. This issue features some beautiful artwork from Harvey Tolibao and Juan Manuel Rodriquez, as Jim Zub focuses this issue on Delina and her quest to rid herself of her wild magic. This is probably my favourite of these character pieces so far, both for the art and for how it deals with growing Delina in a more positive direction, reconciling that a chaotic temperament isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Also, modrons.

| Published by IDW

Hack/Slash: Resurrection #9 is another fun issue guest-starring Vampirella as we discover more of Cassie’s family’s history. The mix of humour and horror is wonderful.

| Published by Image

Harbinger Wars 2 #3 features one of the moments we’ve been waiting for since Harbinger Renegade #5. Though I can’t say it ends in the fashion that we’d necessarily expect or have hoped for, but there’s still a level of satisfaction. Also, the art from Tomás Giorello, Renato Guedes, and Diego Rodriguez is incredible. The design for the Livewire-augmented Bloodshot is just amazing.

| Published by Valiant

Hit-Girl #6 is worth it for Eduardo Risso and Patricia Mulvihill’s artwork alone, perfectly fitting the gritty and violent world that Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. created with Kick-Ass. Jeff Lemire is still an odd fit for this world, as irreverence and violence like this aren’t usually within his standard themes and narrative characteristics, (even when you consider Animal Man or Moon Knight), but he’s doing a great job here. Amidst the violence, there’s a tie to family and some very nice utilization of hallucinations and fever dreams that add depth to the story.

| Published by Image

Hunt for Wolverine: Mystery in Madripoor #3 rushes towards a conclusion as the X-women take on Viper’s femme fatales. I like the story, especially as Jim Zub has been delving into the characters’ past with Logan, mining Domino’s fling of sex and violence here. Can’t say I really like Thony Silas’ art, though. While many of the characters are indistinguishable again apart from their clothes, it feels like the art has been rushed. I liked Silas’ art in Royals, so I’m not sure what happened here.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity Wars Prime #1 has some really nice artwork from Mike Deodato Jr. and Frank Martin, well-suited to the somewhat disjointed, patchwork narrative that Gerry Duggan and others have been putting together since the beginning of Infinity Countdown and now continuing here. It’s not exactly what you’d expect, with some interesting ideas from Loki regarding how reality and stories have been rewritten, and makes me wonder what’s to come throughout the rest of this event.

| Published by Marvel

The Long Con #1 is an interesting beginning from Dylan Meconis, Ben Coleman, EA Denich, and M. Victoria Robado. It’s a decidedly different take on a post-apocalyptic tale, with a localized destruction zone, and an interesting hook by placing the epicentre of survivors within a pop culture convention. The art from Denich and Robado is a real draw. Denich has a style that reminds me a bit of Jim Mahfood and Phil Hester, perfectly fitting the mix of humour and the wasteland.

| Published by Oni Press

Lucy Dreaming #5 is the conclusion to what has been a highly imaginative, lushly illustrated series from Max Bemis and Michael Dialynas. There’s a very interesting theme of male versus female fantasies running throughout the book, but it also works as a surface level coming-of-age adventure.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Marvel Two-in-One #8 takes a step back from the action of recent issues and takes a moment to reflect, as Ben and Johnny deal with being stranded on a strange world ruled by a deranged Spider-Man without their powers. Chip Zdarsky plays with our heartstrings as the two come to terms with their situation.

| Published by Marvel

Mr. & Mrs. X #1 is a continuation of the character arc that began in the recent Rogue & Gambit mini-series, flowed through X-Men Gold #30, and now winds up here with this new ongoing series from Kelly Thompson, Oscar Bazaldua, and Frank D’Armata. This issue takes us back through a more elaborate version of events leading up to the wedding proper, allowing for deeper and fairly humorous character moments, before taking off to the honeymoon. The dialogue is full of Thompson’s welcome sense of humour and the art from Bazaldua and D’Armata is perfect. As I’ve said before, I don’t really care for the Remy & Rogue pairing, but Thompson makes it work and be highly entertaining.

| Published by Marvel

Multiple Man #2 is even more insane than the first issue, with Matthew Rosenberg devising a pretzel of a time travel plot that maybe makes sense to Madrox, but doesn’t to anyone else. It’s a blend of dupes, humour, and a bit of continuity with some truly excellent art from Andy MacDonald and Tamra Bonvillain.

| Published by Marvel

The New World #1 reminds me a bit of Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons’ Martha Washington, but with a decidedly modern bent that takes the patriotism and post-apocalyptic society and turns it into a state run version of Cops with the people voting on whether or not criminals get executed. It’s full of interesting socio-political ideas like any Aleš Kot book, and clean and compelling art from Tradd and Heather Moore.

There’s also a back-up story, wholly unrelated to the main narrative, from a pair of new creators, Aaron Stewart-Ahn and Susando C, that almost overshadows the main book in its quality. It’s a nicely creepy haunted hotel room story that reminds me of Joyce Carol Oates by way of David Lynch.

| Published by Image

Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones #5 is the excellent conclusion to this series, with some interesting and unexpected twists as Crystal Frasier, Tom Garcia, and Morgan Hickman give us Valeros’ final battle with Zeladar. I love the action sequences from Garcia.

| Published by Dynamite

Pestilence: A Story of Satan #3 somehow takes an even darker turn even as a little bit of hope creeps into the story. Frank Tieri, Oleg Okunev, Rob Schwager, and Mark Englert are keeping this ticking along nicely, with some interesting revelations this issue and the introduction to another potential threat.

| Published by AfterShock

The Punisher #228 brings to an end this particular chapter of Frank’s war against crime. It makes me wonder where Matthew Rosenberg is going to take the next act when he and Szymon Kudranski launch the new Punisher series, whether we’ll still see some Black Widow and Winter Soldier, and if there’ll be some resolution to the Hydra arc. Either way, this arc from Rosenberg, Guiu Vilanova, and Lee Loughridge concludes nicely, with a somewhat surprising resolution.

| Published by Marvel

Punks Not Dead #6 rounds out the first arc, fleshing out a bit of what we already found out in the Black Crown Quarterly flashback story and bringing the disparate elements circling around Fergie’s life down on his head. It is very, very good, capturing some of the spirit of old Vertigo supernatural stories, but doing something decidedly new with it. David Barnett and Martin Simmonds are telling a great tale here and, again, I really can’t say enough about Simmonds’ art (with flats from Dee Cunniffe). The layouts are among the most visually interesting out there right now.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Redneck #13 brings up back from the trade break, with Bartlett on the run and a whole new mess in drug-running vampires from his past. Great art as always from Lisandro Estherren and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Image / Skybound

The Sentry #2 works to upend the new status quo created in the first issue, with everything seemingly going wrong for Bob and his simulated world that holds the Sentry. Like with his Moon Knight run, there are some very interesting questions that Jeff Lemire raises here about identity and the possibilities of where this is leading is intriguing. Also, stunning artwork from Kim Jacinto, Joshua Cassara, and Rain Beredo.

| Published by Marvel

Shanghai Red #2 continues the high level of quality set by the first issue as Jack/Red/Molly seeks revenge. This story is compelling and propulsive, sucking you in and refusing to let go. Christopher Sebela and Joshua Hixson have a real hit on their hands here.

| Published by Image

StarCraft: Scavengers #1 is very good, even if you know absolutely nothing about the video game. Jody Houser and Gabriel Guzmán set a tone and story more akin to a horror sci-fi like Alien, setting up the titular scavengers to potentially find terror on a derelict alien ship. When you add the undercurrent of a boyhood crush and a hint of political subterfuge as a side plot, you wind up with a well-rounded beginning here.

| Published by Dark Horse

TMNT #84 concludes the Rat King arc in a fairly inventive way that brings together the Turtles’ journey through strange places and what’s been going on in the city. Again, I have to sing the praises of Dave Wachter and Ronda Pattison. The artwork for this entire arc has just been phenomenal and this issue keeps up that level of quality.

| Published by IDW

Transformers: Lost Light #21 is a little surprising in its pacing, given how quickened the speed of plotlines crashing together and being resolved has been over the past few issues. This one’s more about building and building to the grand reveal on the final page. It works, and it’s very welcome. James Roberts, Jack Lawrence, and Joana Lafuente do a wonderful job with this issue.

| Published by IDW

Transformers: Unicron #2 brings back a number of lost, missing, or presumed dead characters as Starscream makes his play for prominence in the battle to stop Unicron. I like how John Barber has been bringing together the disparate threads, here and in Optimus Prime, as the universe begins to draw to a close. It’s also interesting to see how ROM’s mythology has been woven through the fabric, changing perspective on both his world and here the Dire Wraiths. Also, stunning artwork from Alex Milne and Sebastian Cheng. They’re really making this story feel epic.

| Published by IDW

Venom #4 is an epic revisioning of history, introducing the god of the symbiotes and their true origin to us. It’s great. I’m still amazed by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Frank Martin’s artwork as it seems to get better and better with subsequent issues, raising the bar for the insane story that they’re telling with Donny Cates. This is great world building within the Marvel Universe, while also telling a highly entertaining overall story.

| Published by Marvel

X-23 #2 is another entertaining issue. Although I do miss Tom Taylor, I think that Mariko Tamaki has perfectly nailed the voice and character for Laura and Gabby. The slightly offbeat humour is still present, but a little muted from the All-New Wolverine run, which allows for the eerie and disturbing parts of the story to take prominence a bit more. It’s good, especially the astonishing artwork from Juann Cabal and Nolan Woodard.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Barbarella #8, Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack #11, Blackwood #3, Brothers Dracul #4, Charlie’s Angels #2, Dark Souls: Age of Fire #3, Deadpool: Assassin #4, Deep Roots #3, Gasolina #10, Green Hornet #5, Hillbilly #12, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Coronation #5, Joe Hill’s The Cape: Fallen #2, Judge Dredd: Under Siege #3, KINO #8, Lumberjanes #52, Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer #2, Modern Fantasy #2, Moon Knight #197, Moonshine #12, Night’s Dominion: Season Three #1, Old Man Logan #44, The Realm #8, Rick & Morty #40, Royal City #13, Saga #54, Songs for the Dead #4, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #22, Star Wars: Lando - Double or Nothing #3, Star Wars Adventures #12, Wayward #27, We Are Danger #2, X-Men: Grand Design - Second Genesis #1, X-Men: Wakanda Forever #1, X-Men Blue #32, X-O Manowar #17

Recommended Collections: Alien Bounty Hunter, Daredevil - Volume 6: Mayor Fisk, Incidentals - Volume 2: Balance of Power, Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon, Regression - Volume 2: Disciples, SHIELD: Human Machine, Transformers vs. Visionaries, Venomized, Warframe - Volume 1, X-Men - Volume 4: Cry Havoc, Zojaqan

d. emerson eddy was not there on the evening of the 24th of May, 1954 in the rain.

#This Week in Comics

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