#love death and robots vol 2

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers West Coast #65: "Whatsoever a man soweth..."

December, 1990

The REAPER and the ROBOT Part One He's back from the GRAVE -- and ready to PARTY! ... FEAR the REAPER!

Uuuuugh. Can we not do something different?

Grim Reaper suuuuuucks! He's one-note! Even the title of this arc seems to suggest we're back to his old nonsense. The Reaper and the Robot.

Oh, is Grim Reaper going to have a problem with Vision? How fresh and original!

Although, Vision is with the East Coast Avengers. Maybe Grim Reaper is going to harass Jim Hammond Human Torch instead. That'll be new.

Anyway, a quick recap of Grim Reaper's last appearance. He teamed up with Ultron to put Wonder Man and Vision in a giant blender. Superhero shenanigans ensued and Vision and Wonder Man wound up pursuing Grim Reaper into a dark cavern. And then he stumbled off a cliff when Wonder Man ruined his perfect little brother fantasy by claiming credit for doing an embezzlement.

Uh, so, Wonder Man Simon William's original origin is that he was a competitor to Tony Stark but his company got into trouble and Simon did some embezzlement and got arrested. The Masters of Evil bailed him out and turned him into Wonder Man and then he died. Then Grim Reaper came to avenge Simon by attacking the Avengers instead of the Masters of Evil and also revealed that he, Grim Reaper Eric Williams, did the embezzlement instead and framed his goody-good brother.

And then it was later later revealed that the first thing was correct and Simon did the embezzling and just let Eric take the blame because he was ashamed.

Anyway,

Simon visits his brother's grave at the graveyard.

Where he recaps their entire relationship and says how weird it is that he has an easier time talking to him now that he's dead.

Hey, it be like that sometimes.

Simon apologizes that the two brothers drifted apart and says that all the murder attempts probably meant they cared for each other more than most brothers.

Sure!

Anyway, as soon as Simon leaves the graveyard, Eric pops out of the ground as the living dead.

Oh, sure, don't stay dead. God forbid I be happy.

Nekra reveals herself to be the one that brought him back to life. You know, that lady he was smooching on back when he was alive?

Apparently, she and Black Talon brought Reaper back as a zombie later in the Vision and the Scarlet Witch vol 2 book. And Nekra and Reaper smooched again shortly before he re-died. This made her realize she loved him so she studied voodoo herself so she could bring him back.

Reaper doesn't want to be a zombie again and have to take orders but Nekra tells him he doesn't have to obey anyone! Although, he does need to absorb a human life through his scythe once a day to keep living. She recommends he start with the ornery groundskeeper who has started yelling at them for being in the cemetery after hours.

Instead, Grim Reaper backstabs Nekra and eats her life.

Grim Reaper: "Like you said, Nekra -- this time -- I don't have to do what anybody tells me. Anybody!"

What a dick.

Grim Reaper: "You were right -- about my needing to absorb life -- to hang onto my own approximation of it. Still, in sucking out your life -- I've become the walking personification of death! Now, far more than before, I've become -- THE GRIM REAPER!"

It's decades too late to try to be cool, guy.

Anyway, back at the Avengers West Coast Compound, Palos Verdes, Los Angeles, California, Hawkeye is back to training in that device that swings him around by his feet.

He's trying to get three bullseyes in a row but US Agent throws his shield to block the third one. Apparently, just to be a dick.

US Agent: "What's wrong, archer? Think you're the only one who can use a night workout? 'Course, I guess a guy like you needs all the practice he can get."

Hawkeye then punches US Agent in the face. Deserved.

But US Agent is still a super soldier even if his personality is garbage. So he judo flips Hawkeye into a bush when he tries for a second one.

Wanda and Quicksilver interrupt the fight to ask what the heck is going on. And then Wonder Man returns from the grave visit, telling Hawkeye and US Agent that if their enemies (like Master Pandemonium) had seen the Avengers fighting amongst themselves, it would make them so happy.

Geez, Wonder Man. You know that the Avengers always have drama. You were the one causing drama back during most of Englehart's run.

Anyway, he suggests that Hawkeye and US Agent shake hands and forget the whole fight.

Hawkeye: "How about we forget to shake hands, and let it go at that?" US Agent: "What he said."

Wow. So they can agree on things. If only they could broaden that 'fuck you, Wonder Man' attitude into a general sense of camaraderie.

Anyway, Wanda wanders to Wonder Man and asks if they can talk. Because they haven't really talked since her whole Evil and Crazy phase and boy do they have a lot to talk about.

Will they though? I mean, they try!

Scarlet Witch: "I merely wanted to -- well, to thank you for all your kindness while I've been recovering from -- everything that's happened to me lately." Wonder Man: "What are friends for? I see you're not wearing your costume, though -- either of them. Your hex power still hasn't kicked back in, huh?" Scarlet Witch: "No, and I can't be certain it ever will. In fact, with so many things I thought were -- permanent -- having been altered lately, perhaps it would be best if the Scarlet Witch phase of my life were over with, as well." Wonder Man: "Don't even think that, Wanda."

Yeah, editorial will never allow it.

Anyway, Wonder Man has had a hell of a day, thinking about his definitely dead brother and thinks this conversation will be easier over food.

And he looks truly miserable. Like, my god, this is a man in a dark place.

So Wanda suggests Taco Loco and drags him off.

Anyway, over in the plot, Grim Reaper wanders into an abandoned gun emplacement in the coastal hills of San Pedro. Currently being used by the Cult of Satanish, who I guess is like Satan... ish.

The cult gets in his face for interrupting their ritual and then he starts slaughtering. Because they're full of delicious life energy.

Is this your plan, Grim? Just killing random weirdos to live another day?

In his slaughter frenzy, Grim Reaper doesn't notice one of the cultists running away.

Back in the character beats, Wonder Man and Wanda have sat down at a restaurant and instead of talking about what they need to talk about, they're gossiping about Hank and Jan.

Apparently, Hank and Jan have officially explicitly decided to try to see if they can work as a couple again. Instead of them... I dunno, they were like dating in secret but it was super obvious and yet things kept happening that would interrupt them from ever speaking it aloud.

What was the point of playing coy with it?

Speaking of weirdly prolonged subplots, where the fuck is Tigra? I can't believe the Avengers lost an entire person, smh.

Some fans of Simon come right up to the restaurant table and ask him for his autograph. Specifically, the autograph of Simon Williams, semi-famous actor from Arkon 5, a cinematic masterpiece.

The fans don't even have any idea that he's a superhero. Which is weird. Since a huge part of his PR plays up the idea that he's an actor who is a superhero. To the extent that when he was really attacked for real by Last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus Wearing Abomination As a Meatsuit, everyone assumed that it was just a stunt and not a real violent assault.

My point is that it's odd that these young fans don't know Simon Williams is Avenger Wonder Man but they say they don't watch a lot of TV.

So, I guess it's possible. That they're just really big fans of his movies and don't pay a lot of attention to anything else.

Anyway, that one cultist that escaped Grim Reaper's murder spree stumbles into specifically the restaurant that Grim Reaper's superhero brother Wonder Man is in, cries out about a Grim Reaper killing people in a bunker, and then drops dead.

It's just vague enough that Wonder Man has to follow up on it! Annnnd, I guess he didn't bring his rocket belt? Because he asks two cops that were in the restaurant if he (and Wanda) could get a ride.

The cops are like 'yeah, okay.'

When the cop car arrives at the bunker, Wonder Man rushes ahead and finds a bunch of murdered people. And also, Grim Reaper jumps out like a slasher villain.

Wonder Man wonder slams a table into Grim Reaper and yells at him for killing a bunch of people.

Grim Reaper's response is funny because he's like well they weren't exactly saints but like I didn't really take that into account either. Just had to slurp some delicious life.

Wonder Man: "That means -- you're even more murderous than you used to be -- which makes stopping you my business!"

He's not wrong.

New zombie Grim Reaper will kill a minimum of 365 people a year if left alone. That's ridonk.

Grim Reaper is all jacked up on life energy so he's able to take Wonder Man punches like a boss. Getting punched hard enough that he cracks the concrete wall and shakes the whole place like an earthquake. And then bouncing right back to knock Wonder Man across the room.

The cops pull their guns and start blasting Grim Reaper. Blasting through him too. I guess being super jacked up on life energy doesn't change that his body is all squishy.

Grim Reaper knocks the cops aside and declares that even though he's eaten enough life for the day, he's going to kill Wonder Man just cause.

Wonder Man presses X to doubt because Grim Reaper is obsessed with him. All his dumb schemes were to either get revenge for him or turn Vision or Wonder Man back into the brother he used to know.

So Wonder Man just rolls the dice on letting Grim Reaper hit him with his scythe.

And he's sorta right. The scythe just FTHKs off his rock hard pecs. It's not clear whether it wasn't an earnest attempt to kill Wonder Man or whether the scythe just isn't up to cutting an ionic energy man.

But something weird happens. A weird sibling interaction.

The life energy flows out of Grim Reaper through the scythe and goes into Wonder Man. And neither of them like it.

It drains and weakens Grim Reaper. And the energy is so foul that it incapacitates Wonder Man with nausea and disgust.

Grim Reaper is so drained that he needs to eat another person to get through the night. Annnnnnnnd Wanda and the two cops just happen to be available...

Wanda tries to do a hex but gets nothing. Her powers are still gone after that Immortus thing.

But she's resourceful. So she kicks over a lantern, the only light source, and casts the bunker into darkness.

Grim Reaper can't see in the dark so decides to just fuck off.

Wonder Man: "Eric -- if you really are Eric -- wait! If something's wrong with you, maybe we can help!" Grim Reaper: "What I need, little brother, you clearly can't give -- and you sure won't stand by and let me take it for myself! I may be dead -- but I need life, like a living man needs food -- and no one is going to stop me from getting all I need! NO ONE!"

And then he fucks off.

Wonder Man laments that he was too disoriented by getting scythed to give chase.

Wonder Man: "I've got to find him -- or else every life he takes -- every drop of blood he spills -- will be on my hands!"

Mmm, that's good drama.

And now for subplots.

As mentioned earlier, Hank and Jan are off trying out being a couple. Including having a married couple argument.

So I can sigh once again about how Wasp is being portrayed since Byrne's run started.

Dr Pym: "Hank and Jan couldn't fly in a Rover, oh no. Or even just take a plane. They had to rent a car and drive, just like folks. Results: one flat tire, equidistant between closed service stations, in a car missing a jack."

I'm so glad that Jan organized the travel arrangements entirely so she could make all the wrong decisions. It has nothing to do with anything but she's just got to be wrong so Hank can be right =_=

Luckily, Hank and Jan got their flat in front of a farmhouse. Which Hank notes is odd because a lot of pesticide spraying has been doing in this area.

The old farmer couple that answers when Hank knocks says they don't have a jack. But also luckily, Hank completely ignored Jan when she asked him not to bring a Rover, his ant-brained aircar that loves him. So when she laments that she was wrong not to let him bring it, he can bring it out, secure in his rightness.

Also, when he uses his Pym Particles to expand Rover, the farming couple explodes.

THEY WERE ROBOTS ALL ALONG.

BECAUSE ULTRON-13 WAS BEHIND THIS!

WHATEVER THIS IS!

Like, seriously, what are you up to, Ultron? Why did you put fake farmer robots in the middle of nowhere? Just to ruin Hank and Jan's stupid couples trip?

I miss Mark the Ultron...

ANOTHER SUBPLOT.

Remember how Ann Raymond came to find the truth of what happened to her husband Toro and she just kept hanging around?

Well, in this back-up story "Toro, Toro, Toro...", Jim Hammond Human Torch and Mrs Raymond have put out an ad and ran it in papers around the world asking for information on what happened to Toro. They only received one response, an anonymous letter asking to meet them at the Channel Islands.

And when they get there, the letter writer turns out to be the Mad Thinker! And he brought a Giganto! A robot Giganto!

Mad Thinker: "And who more fitting, than he who not only caused Toro's death southwest of Lisianski Island -- but who also first resurrect you from suspended animation, years ago? I thought it past time I disposed of the surviving half of the Torch-Toro team!"

Human Torch do what Human Torch do and throws fireballs at the Giganto, melting its skin and revealing that it's a robot.

But in the meantime, the Mad Thinker has fucked off.

Hammond and Mrs Raymond decide to go investigate Lisianski Island, which Mad Thinker really emphasized it. So they miss Mad Think coming out of the water and ripping off his face to reveal...

NAMOR MCKENZIE!

Who disguised himself as the Mad Thinker to help the two of them get closure and couldn't just tell them because he's busy faking his death at the moment.

As one does.

I'll just be happy if we get this subplot wrapped up.

Anyway, back to the Larry Hama Avengers run next week. And the week after that, Ultron stuff.

Follow @essential-avengers. Like, reblog, and comment. Or don't. I can't make you. Until I get the Mind Stone.

[ragingphantom666]

Sonic World project plan: Shadow the Hedgehog (Vol. 2)

This series is not an assured project. It is a concept that can still be changed or scrapped.

Synopsis

After the event of "Shadow the Hedgehog" volume one, Shadow has decided to reunite with Team Dark. The rocky reunion is broken up by the impossible return of Mephiles the Dark. They must team-up to stop the new threat of Nominatus, master of technology.

Characters

Shadow the Hedgehog - The ultimate lifeform created by Gerald Robotnik in the Earth dimension. He was brought to Sonic's home dimension by Eggman sometime following his battle with the Biolizard on the Ark. Rouge was the first person he met following his reawakening. For a time, they had quite the bond and formed Team Dark with E-123 Omega. Sometime prior to the battle where Eggman disappeared, Shadow left to be on his own. During the events on this volume, he attempts to repair his status with Team Dark while chasing after the evil Mephiles.

Rouge the Bat - A master thief, treasure hunter, and leader of Team Dark with a flirty personality. She had a close relationship with Shadow and was hurt when he left the team. When he returns, she no longer trusts him enough to lower her guard again.

E-123 Omega - The most powerful robot built by Eggman. He loves to destroy enemies and cause destruction. There is a kinder side to him that only Shadow and Rouge have seen. No matter what, he will always protect his friends.

Mephiles - Dubbed "the Ultimate Lifeform Destroyer," he was created by Infinite the Jackal through the power of the reality-altering power of the Phantom Ruby to torment Shadow. Although the ruby was destroyed and the false reality was torn apart, Mephiles somehow impossibly survived. In a "glitchy" form, he releases Nominatus as part of a plan to destroy Shadow.

Nominatus - An ancient, alien being from the Nero dimension. He can manipulate electronics and radio signals. He was sent eons ago to conquer the world for Black Doom, but he was defeated and sealed within an object known as the "Nominatus Sphere." He morphs Badniks into his demonic minions. His drive is to finish his mission and return home as a champion.

Recap

Other Information

The plan for the Nero dimension is for it to take inspiration from the Shinigami realm from the anime "Death Note." The domain of Black Doom is based on the Black Comet.

I got the name "Nero" when I put "Black Doom" through an Italian translation. It's fitting because I've seen two evil characters who were called "Nero." It's a long story though about how I got to using Italian though.

Although there is no romance in the Sonic World universe, the "bond" between Shadow and Rouge is meant to suggest that they were dating once. Officially though, they were just really, really, really, really good friends 😉

[phantombandit-films]

Christian Slater Movie/Tv checklist.

When I find a actor/actress I like I will go through their IMDB and make a list of the films I think look interesting and watch them. Most of the time that means watching every single movie/ tv show they have been in. Titles with a ✔ at the end are the ones I've seen.

☆ Tales from the Darkside. ☆ The Legend of Billie Jean. ✔ ☆ The Name of the Rose. ✔ ☆ Twisted. ✔ ☆ The Equalizer (Season 2, Ep 4) ☆ Crime Story. ☆ L.A. Law (Season 2, Ep 16) ☆ Tucker: The Man and His Dream. ☆ Heathers. ✔ ☆ Gleaming the Cube. ✔ ☆ Desperate for Love. ☆ Beyond the Stars. ☆ The Wizard. ✔ ☆ The Edge (Season 1, Ep 3) ☆ Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. ☆ Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory. ✔ ☆ Pump up the Volume. ✔ ☆ Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. ✔ ☆ Mobsters. ☆ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. ☆ Kuffs. ✔ ☆ Where the Day Takes You. ☆ Untamed Heart. ✔ ☆ True Romance. ✔ ☆ Jimmy Hollywood. ☆ Interview with the Vampire. ✔ ☆ Murder in the First. ✔ ☆ Bed of Roses. ✔ ☆ Broken Arrow. ✔ ☆ Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. ☆ Julian Po. ☆ Merry Christmas, George Bailey. ☆ Hard Rain. ✔ ☆ Basil. ☆ Very Bad Things. ☆ The Contender. ☆ 3000 Miles to Graceland. ☆ Who Is Cletis Tout? ☆ Zoolander. ✔ ☆ Hard Ca$h. ☆ Wind Talkers. ☆ The West Wing (Season 4, Ep 7,8,10) ☆ Masked and Anonymous. ☆ Alias (Season 2, Ep 15, 19) ☆ Mindhunters. ✔ ☆ The Confessor. ☆ Pursued. ☆ Alone in the Dark. ✔ ☆ The Deal. ☆ Hollow Man 2. ☆ Bobby. ☆ My Name is Earl (Season 2, Ep 8) ✔ ☆ He Was a Quiet Man. ☆ Slipstream. ☆ Love Lies Bleeding. ☆ Igor. ☆ My Own Worst Enemy (Season 1, Ep 1-9) ☆ Dolan's Cadillac. ☆ Lies & Illusions. ☆ The Forgotten (Season 1, Ep1-17) ☆ Sacrifice. ☆ Without Men. ☆ The River Murders. ☆ The Final Rites. ☆ Playback. ✔ ☆ Sofia. ☆ Freaky Deaky. ☆ El Gringo. ☆ Dawn Rider. ☆ Hatfields and McCoys: Bad Blood. ☆ Soldiers of Fortune. ☆ Breaking In (Season 1, Ep 1-7 - Season 2, Ep 1-13) ☆ Guns, Girls and Gambling. ☆ Bullet to the Head. ☆ Bound. ☆ Assassins Run. ☆ Stranded. ☆ Nymphomaniac: Vol. I ☆ Nymphomaniac: Vol. II ☆ Ask Me Anything. ✔ ☆ Way of the Wicked. ☆ Mind Games (Season 1, Ep 1-13) ☆ Mune: Guardian of the Moon. ☆ Hot Tub Time Machine 2. ✔ ☆ True Deception. ☆ King Cobra. ☆ The Summit. ☆ The Wife. ☆ The Public. ☆ Mr. Robot. ☆Dirty John (Season 2, Ep 1-8) ☆ We Can Be Heroes. ✔ ☆ Dr. Death (Season 1, Ep 1-8) ☆ Vindicators 2 (Season 1, ep 1,3,4,6,7,10) ☆ Archer (Season 5, Ep 9,12,13 - Season 6, 2,6,8,9,12,13 - Season 7, Ep 8 - Season 13, Ep 7,8) ☆ Inside Job (Season 1, Ep 1-10- Season 2, Ep 1-8) ☆ Willow (Season 1, Ep 6) ✔

[albertonykus]

Doraemon Vol. 3 from The Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio

The stories in this one were published in 1970–1976. By and large, they’re settling into their typical format and tone, including the introduction of shooting as one of Nobita’s few talents. With some stories from 1970 here though, there’s still some early-series weirdness. For example, this volume contains the last of the stories featuring the robot duck Gachako. There’s also a chapter in which Doraemon is reluctant to rescue some stranded hikers because he wants to keep his 22nd-Century technology a secret from people in the present, an essentially nonexistent concern later in the franchise. Then there are stories where the central conflict could have been easily solved by recurring gadgets that would be introduced later, such as the Anywhere Door (first appearance in 1973*) and the Doctor’s Handbag (first appearance in 1979).

*Due to the way the Doraemon manga is collected in The Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio, the story introducing the Anywhere Door is included in volume 2, despite postdating some of the stories in volume 3. In fact, it’s the same story where Dorami debuted!

We also start seeing the occurrence of distinct but conceptually similar gadgets, like the Lie Realizer (ソノウソホント) and the Lie Machine (うそつ機). Both are beak-like mouthpieces that generate an effect based on the user’s lies, but whereas the Lie Realizer actually makes lies come true (an incredibly overpowered ability—no wonder this gadget has never shown up in the Doraemon movies), the Lie Machine simply makes others believe they’re true.

Some of the most iconic Doraemon stories in this volume (as determined by my personal experience and biases):

“ペロ! 生きかえって” (“Pero! Come Back to Life”, 1971): Shizuka’s dog, Pero, passes away, so Nobita and Doraemon travel back in time and prevent his death. There are no negative consequences to this whatsoever.

“ほんもの図鑑” (“Real-object Encyclopedia”, 1971): Doraemon shows Nobita what a tarsier looks like using a set of encyclopedias that can release real versions of anything pictured inside. Nobita’s friends borrow the encyclopedias and chaos ensues.

“テストにアンキパン” (“Taking a Test with Memory Bread”, 1972): To help Nobita study for an exam, Doraemon offers him Memory Bread, which can copy printed materials and allow the user to memorize them if ingested... for as long as it remains in their digestive system, at least. (This is the story pictured on the cover.) I get the feeling that many people who grew up reading or watching Doraemon wanted this gadget at some point.

“すてきなミイちゃん” (“Beautiful Mii-chan”, 1973): Doraemon falls in love with a toy cat and brings it to life with his gadgets, but it turns out to be a male cat who isn’t into him.

“ネズミとばくだん” (“Mice and Bombs”, 1974): Doraemon goes berserk trying to deal with a mouse in the house, even bringing out an Earth-destroying bomb!

“進化退化放射線源” (“Evolution-devolution Ray”, 1975): Doraemon takes out the titular gadget to upgrade Nobita’s radio, but Nobita gets the idea to try it on other things. I previously discussed this story and its anime adaptations here.

“ニセ宇宙人” (“Fake Alien”, 1976): After Nobita is fooled by Gian and Suneo’s fake UFO photo, Doraemon helps him get even by using a model UFO from the 22nd Century.

[night-gay]

Into the Anthill pt 49 - Schism

Following in the footsteps of the X-Men comics, Avengers Academy had their own schism of sorts. Jocasta and Veil both went out of their way to say the academy was a dangerous waste of time and tried to poach Hank’s students for Briggs Chemical. Only two left (and they were minor characters at best) but Jocasta still tried to tear down everything Hank built and erase all of the campus systems to prove that his way of teaching was reckless and self-aggrandizing. She also criticized him for turning to the Avengers when times were hard and he needed support, but like. That’s literally what friends are for??

On the bright side: Ultron’s creation of Victor Mancha means Hank’s got another robot grandchild to hang out with now.

🐜🐜🐜

Avengers Origins: Ant-Man and the Wasp vol 1 #1

In this new version of Hank’s origin story his serum was denied funding because of the potential military applications and he met Janet on his way out of the committee hearing. Hank was chased out of his lab by a rat after his first time shrinking and he escaped the anthill by asking the first ant he encountered kindly for help. Jan asked him to dinner with her and her father where he admitted his plan to shift his focus to entomology. He consulted with Jan about the colors of his potential suit and within two months he’d suited up as Ant-Man. Jan asked if she could join him in his secret new hobby, but he told her no. He was still too raw from Maria’s death to let anyone get close to him yet.

Her father’s death happened as it did originally. Jan came to Hank for comfort and help, so he revealed his identity to her and swore to help. Jan had already figured out that he was Ant-Man and readily allowed him to subject her to the procedure that gave her her powers. She took the chemicals on her own to kill the Kosmosian once they arrived on the scene. The story ended with cheesy narration about how insect can’t love but these two can.

Needless to say, I thought this lacked the charm of his real 1960′s origins.

Venom vol 2 #14-15

Agent Venom, Red Hulk, Ghost Rider, and X-23 stopped Blackheart (Mephisto’s son) from turning Las Vegas into Hell on Earth. Captain America arrived once the battle was over to take the Venom symbiote into custody but Red Hulk vouched for him as a hero. Hank and Beast theorized that it could be kept under control, so Cap invited Flash to join the Secret Avengers. His symbiote would be kept in a secure facility until he needed it, at which time it would be shrunken down subatomically and sent via broadcast to whatever device he called from.

Avengers Academy vol 1 #23-28

In an effort to guarantee his future timeline, the impostor Reptil had Hybrid, a mutant/dire wraith hybrid, recruited to the academy. He kept his identity a secret and intended to have him kill all of the other students save for his close friends. After luring several students to him, Reptil had a change of heart and sounded the alarm to have everyone that was left fight Hybrid off. He brought back Humberto’s current psyche and Hank worked with Lightspeed to quickly assemble a door to Limbo to shove Hybrid into. Juston’s Sentinel delivered the final blow despite being broken down, apparently Jocasta’s doing. Adult Reptil’s last act was to call in Jocasta (who’d faked her death to observe the academy) and Veil to help. Jocasta claimed that this was further proof that Avengers Academy was a failed experiment and should be shut down.

Hank and Clint stopped her from dismantling all of their systems, but she still insisted on pitching Briggs Chemical as an alternate option for the students like Veil had chosen. The students were free to choose but only a few of the part-timers switched sides. After they left, Striker held a press conference to come out of the closet and The Runaways snuck in by disguising themselves as press.

The Runaways came to seek help finding Old Lace, their deinonychus who’d been lost in an alternate dimension. Victor Mancha had the idea to seek out the Avengers Academy for help and Hank agreed, rigging up a machine that used Reptil’s amulet and Nico’s staff to open a portal to Old Lace’s location. While they went out to rescue her, Nico discovered that Hank and Tigra planned to make Molly and Klara stay at the academy since they were so young. The teams briefly came to blows, but the Academy students quickly took the Runaways’ side and stopped. Nico cast a spell that allowed all of them to understand each other and they came to the agreement that Molly and Klara would at least take a robot Hank loaded with educational material. He offered Victor a place in their team if he ever wanted it and the two parted on good terms when he left with the Runaways once more.

Minor/Cameo appearances from this period:

Avengers Origins: Vision vol 1 #1

Avengers Origins: Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver vol 1 #1

[gloop898]

2023 Media Thread - Master Post

Anime / TV

X - Witch From Mercury Season One

X - Akiba Maid War

X - Bocchi the Rock!

X - Chainsaw Man

X - The Legend of Vox Machina Season One & Two

X - Symphogear

X - Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

X - Yuru Camp

X - Symphogear G

X - Kill la Kill

X - Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister!

X - The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

X - The Muppets Mayhem

X - the muppets. (2015 tv series)

X - Yuri is My Job!

X - Witch From Mercury Season Two

X - Loki

X - Adventure Time

X - Adventure Time: Distant Lands

X - Fionna and Cake Season One

Games

X - Lonely Mountains Downhill

X - Splatoon 3

X - Hi-Fi Rush

X - Tunic

X - Prey (2017)

X - The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

X - Cruelty Squad

X - Kirby’s Dream Land

X - VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

X - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

X - Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

X - Carrion

X - Metroid Prime Remastered

X - Star Wars: Episode 1 - Racer

X - Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk...

X - Pikmin 4

X - Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

X - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

X - Lethal Company

Movies

X - Puss In Boots The Last Wish

X - The Shape of Water

X - Nope

X - The Super Mario Bros. Movie

X - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

X - Get Out

X - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

X - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

X - Sunshine (2007)

X - The Grand Budapest Hotel

X - American Psycho

X - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 + Vol 3

X - Godzilla Minus One

X - Jingle All the Way

Yuri Manga

X - Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister! Ch1-Ch70

X - Eyeshield 21

X - New Game!

X - Futari Escape

X - Slow Start

X - Don’t Become An Otaku, Shinozaki!

X - 2DK, G-pen, Alarm Clock

X - Ohana Holoholo

X - Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon

X - Kami Eshi JK to OL Fujoshi

X - I want to be a cute anime girl Ch1-Ch314

X - Ouji-sama Nante Iranai

X - Sougou Tovarisch

X - Mimi Mix

X - Poor Poor Lips

X - Tonari no Robot

X - Opapagoto

X - A Timid Woman Longing For Her Delivery Girl

X - Let’s Love Girlfriends and Secrets

X - Hana and Hina After School

X - Adachi to Shimamura (2016 Manga)

X - Blue Friend

X - Skip and Loafer Ch1-Ch53

X - YuruYuri Ch1-Ch198

X - Yoru to Umi

X - An Easy Introduction to Love Triangles (To Pass the Exam!)

X - The Witch’s Marriage

X - Hino-san no Baka

X - There’s Weird Voices Coming from the Room Next Door!

X - What Does the Fox Say?

X - Shoujo Manga Protagonist X Rival-San

X - The Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing

X - I Won 300 Million Yen, so I Started Raising a Freeloader Pretty Girl

X - About a College Girl Who Gets Picked Up at a Mixer by an Older Girl

X - Gabriel DropOut Ch1-Ch97

X - Vampeerz

X - Oshi V ga Oshiego de Watashi ga Mama de!?

X - Uta-kata, and Minus Literacy

X - Yume Miru Prima Girl!

X - Yuunagi Marbled, and Ami-chan’s Diary

X - I Wanna Quit Being a Hitman!

X - Love/Death, and Nicochuu

X - Goblin Is Very Strong

X - Soulmate

X - Sakura Trick

X - Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru

X - I Love Amy

X - Senpai, Does It Taste Good?

X - Ms. Vampire Who Lives In my Neighborhood

X - Sekai de Ichiban Oppai ga Suki!

X - Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-senpai ni Koishiteru

X - The Model & The Plain Manager

X - Haru Tsuzuru, Sakura Saku Kono Heya de

X - Catulus Syndrome

X - The Nuisance Daily Life of Robot-dependent Girl

X - KiLa KiLa, Steps, and Game;

X - Omoino-Kakera, Itoshi Koishi, and An Absurd Relationship

X - Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~

X - Netsuzou Trap - NTR

X - All of Humanity Is Yuri Except for Me

X - Our Teachers are Dating!

X - An Aside Told to You

X - Mononoke Sharing

X - Chasing After Aoi Koshiba

X - Yurigurashi

X - Inside Mari

X - Sexual Education 120%

X - Hana to Hoshi

X - Todo no Tsumari no Uchouten & Ame Demo Hare Demo

X - Holy Girl Paradigm

X - Sorairo Girlfriend

X - Iono the Fanatics

X - The Girls' Arcadia

X - Stella☆Record

X - Bad Thinking Diary

X - Ibara no Namida

X - Fragtime

X - Ghosts of Greywoods

X - Sadistic Beauty: Side Story A

X - Oddman 11

X - Atashi no Senpai

X - Blooming Sequence

X - Girl in the Birdcage

X - The Ends of a Dream

X - Rock it, GiRL!!

X - Kitanai Kimi ga Ichiban Kawaii

X - Shino to Ren

X - Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels

X - Yuri is My Job

Other Manga

X - Chainsaw Man Ch1-Ch97

X - Musuko ga Kawaikute Shikataganai Mazoku no Hahaoya

X - Kimi to Pico-Pico

X - Welcome Back, Alice

X - Dungeon Meshi

X - Himegoto - Juukyuusai no Seifuku

X - So I'm a Spider, So What? Ch1 - Ch66.1

X - Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai! Ch1 - Ch85

X - My childhood friend MUST become a girl!

Other

X - Infect Your Friends And Loved Ones

X - I'm Glad My Mom Died

[happymeishappylife]

Comics I Read in 2024 Part 2

1. Chicken Devil Vol 1: Under Pressure by Brian Buccellato, Hayden Sherman, Hassan Otsmane, El Haou

This was a random recommendation from one of the comic shop vendors at Heroes Con this year. He saw me flipping through the trades and was trying to make me recommendations. At first he picked a generic one that women comedian wrote with bras in the titles. I wasn’t impressed and passed over it, but then I think I piqued his interest when I pulled out a Sandman universe comic so he recommended this. And for how dark this story really is, I found this comic hilarious. It’s about Mitch who runs a successful hot chicken chain in LA. His partner gets caught up stealing drugs from a local gang and chaos ensues, where part of Mitch’s warehouse burns. Then out of panic they plan an escape on Antonio’s yacht and being shady, Mitch convinces his family to join them, but then the yacht blows up as soon as they board. Mitch is devastated, losing control of not only his partner’s actions, but his life and so he starts wearing his restaurants mascot costume and taking matters into his own hands to get revenge. Only, he sucks at it. Most of the deaths aren’t him killing people (except rigging one of his pressure cookers up as a bomb), they are accidental and Mitch keeps digging himself deeper and deeper into trouble. Plus, turns out his family didn’t die so now he’s pissed this gang off for no reason. But at least the detectives that have been following him, decide to team up with him, citing they like what he’s doing, but that he sucks at it. I’ll admit, I’m curious enough to see what happens next.

2. 2-Land Issue #1 by Jay the Teller and Dr Inx

These guys approached me at Heroes Con this year and invited me to learn about 2-Land, a masked vigilante superhero of a teenage tiger who tries to do good for his community. The story itself is very much like a typical coming of age superhero story where DJ is learning how to fight with his two robot friends? (Can’t tell if they are real people on coms or not). And he gets in a little over his head fighting off an underground boss who is tired of him messing with his local supply. It almost ends disastrously but DJ prevails and continues to fight another day, even though his action is drawing attention of more villains. When I talked to Jay, he mentioned that the goal of the comic was to give kids a superhero to look up to and teach moral lessons to its readers. They even were developing a TV show, video game, and stuffed animal merch. This being the introductory novel, we didn’t get a lot of a deeper story, so it will interesting to see if they achieve their goals in the later issues, but I think its worthy that this is what they are trying to develop.

3. 2-Land Issue 2 by Jay the Teller and Dr. Inx

So in this next issue we learn that DJ has an uncle who knows about his vigilante justice and that the two people on coms seem to be real people who are helping DJ out with his uncle’s guidance. Still, DJ is naïve in thinking he can solve everything and gets into more trouble dealing with someone who is dealing war weapons in the city. This one also tried to push more of the morals that I was told it was going to and don’t get me wrong, I think its great that they are doing it and I think the story is okay. I just don’t feel like its deep enough or intricate enough for me to get into. And for kids its good, except for the violence and the themes surrounding the villains, so maybe older preteens/teens would be the target audience.

4. Zero Ghost (Ashcan Edition) by Justin Jordan, Brian Ching, Wil Quintana, and Micah Meyers

Got this at a panel at this years Heroes Con and it was cool to be interested in the concept of an Ashcan which is a free comic to promote a new series. And this one seems really cool. It’s like a touch of Kill Bill with a supernatural element and all set in a futuristic Hong Kong with its seedy underbelly. I would love to read the rest of the series once its ready to be released. It will be cool to see where it goes and I love that it is indie comic by Asian creators who can provide their own take on tropes like this.

5. The Samurnauts: The Curse of the Dreadnaughts by Fishman, Gnepper, and Wright

I got this comic at Heroes Con because one of the promoters liked my Doctor cosplay. As he tried to sell me on the comic, boosting that it had samurais, ninjas, pirates, cyborgs, and mecha suits, what ended up catching my eye was the actual art. This story tells a crazy tale of these samurai warriors throughout the ages and in different parts of the world/space and that’s reflected in the past eras because the art is different. In the early 15th century Japan, the comics are drawn and colored with pencil and its beautiful even if its about zombies and cyborg pirates. Then it gets a little more polished, but is still hand drawn in the 18th Century England. But present day storyline, which takes place in the future, it’s the typical high color, digital prints that is present in comics today. I find that pretty cool. And also the story was highly entertaining with a good mix of that power ranger like feel.

6. Saga Volume 7 by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan

The family is all together and Alana is pregnant again, so when and how will it go wrong? Don’t worry that happens very quickly. The group has to land on a moon to refuel and get stuck there for six months, but become friends with an otter family who they help feed. Still trouble is coming as a planet who has a face is coming to devastate the moon. The group finds out after Izabel gets killed, which one is impressive for a ghost but I hope this isn’t the first real death in the comic for one of the mains, and they go to find her and see the threat. But she is also killed by the new bounty hunter who is after Alana and Marko and they seem a bit more intense which is why the comic ends on a cliffhanger when they attack and knock out Alana, making it look like the second baby is lost. Meanwhile, the side story of The Will trying to track down Sophie continues and we see that even though he loses his license and is losing his senses. And then he gets captured after they kill his dog.

7. Saga Volume 8 by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan

Well, picking up from the horrifying end of the last comic, we end up on one of the Wings back planets called Abortion Town. Its interesting because the comics have tackled hard subjects, but the way they discuss and show abortion is actually great because Alana isn’t seeking one at 8 months because she suddenly doesn’t want one, her fetus has died and is causing her real harm. Plus cool magic spells that only Land Dwellers have. But Abortion Town won’t help her because she is too far along and so they have to risk going to the other side where the real monsters are. And it looks dicey and scary. Not too mention while Alana is dying, her powers get stronger conjuring a fictional version of a son they might have had. But it seemed like a healthy thing for Hazel to experience. They then arrive on the planet where they left Squire. How his royal highness will explain his new lover will be interesting. But we also learn that Will’s capture is suddenly more interested in the family so the hunt will only continue.

8. House of Whispers Volume 1: A Power Divided by Neil Gaiman, Nalo Hopkinson, Dominike “DOMO” Stanton, John Rauch

It was interesting to step into the Sandman Universe via a side story rather than the original saga. And while I got slightly spoiled about the Sandman comics, I was deeply engrossed in this collection just as much as the original comics. Instead of following the adventures of Dream, we learn that the goddess Ezrulie Freda who lives on a houseboat in Louisiana is suddenly torn away from the world and sucked into the Dreamworld, which is dying and missing a book from Ezrulie’s Nephew Shakpana. The book falls into the hands of two teenagers who accidentally unleash some of Shakpana’s powers of famine and pandemics into the world, cursing both of them with a death disease where they are alive, but merely just walking corpses. While Ezrulie and Uncle Monday try to find a way out the Dreaming to help and stop her nephew, bad things unfold in both the dreamworld and the living world and I can’t wait to see where more of this story goes.

9. Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor Adventures Year 1 Vol 1: After Life by Al Ewing, Rob Williams, Simon Fraser, Boo Cook, Gary Caldwell, Hi-Fi

I have read the first issue of this series which is how the Doctor meets Alice, but boy am I glad to read the whole first volume because it answered so many of my questions about who John Jones was and how he joins the TARDIS, how they pick up Arc, and also how the Doctor falls victim to the Talent Scout (which I thought would be darker, but wasn’t that bad). So it was great to finally fill in the blanks. I love Alice and I like to see starts to get out of her depression and become awesome. She really is a rock for the Doctor and I really like the presence of an older companion with the Eleventh Doctor’s kidlike fascination or tantrums sometimes. Once I collect the full set I can’t wait to read these front to back and see the evolution naturally. But I also like how John Jones goes from terrible musician to star child of the pop world because he snuck away on the TARDIS.

20. Doctor Who: The Girl Who Waited and The Boy Who Lived Volume 2

I decided to reread this collection because as I was moving, I couldn’t remember the stories. Some of them came back to me like the football match against the Vikings to determine the reign of the area. Others, like the Jack the Ripper story, not so much. So it was fun to dive back in. This is a good collection of stories with The Doctor and the Ponds and I always appreciate that the stories can go in directions that the show can’t. Either with over the top and a crazy mix of storylines. Or the darker stories that you couldn’t necessary have on the show (though much milder than the Big Finish). Plus its nice to spend time with the Ponds and the Doctor without the larger plotlines and just enjoy the three of them working together.

[minetteskvareninova]

Minette Rates Love, Death & Robots, Vol.2

(Again, as spoiler free as possible, which is to say not very. Sorry about that.)

AUTOMATED CUSTOMER SERVICE - Offputing animation style and eyeroll-worthy antitechnology message redeemed to a staggering extent by a decent story and, most of all, by being fucking hillarious, maybe the funniest short so far. See, this is how you do satire! 8/10

ICE - This one is... Complicated. The animation was beautifully stylized and appropriately atmospheric - except for the humans, who were just plain hideous. The worldbuilding was pretty lame - except for the whales and the way it played into the unironically good story and characters. Overall, flawed, but pretty good. 7/10

POP SQUAD - The story and message of this one were so utterly horrible that I might have to write an entire meta unpacking them. In short: just read The Declaration series by Gemma Malley instead (or at least the first book, I haven't read the rest). 1/10 for semi-decent animation and cute kids.

SNOW IN THE DESERT - This one had a few interesting kernels, like interesting worldbuilding and concept for a main character, but they all come to naught as the emotional core of the story is a deeply lame romance between extremely poorly drawn character. The pixie cut girl works for a government agency whose main goal is to get Snow, except she completely forgets it because of his magical dick. Which is supposed to be kinda miraculous, but in a completely different way. Snow is better, in that he's just a dude who wants to be left alone and enjoy simple things in life that your regular grunts on this desert hellworld don't have access to. I... I don't get it. Like you could definitely make some point of the fact that he's incredibly privileged by local standards, but they don't. Overall, what this all boils down to is that someone dropped an albino Wolverine onto a Tatooine-esque planet, let him do some cool action scenes defending himself from random bounty hunters and gave him a sexy lamp, I mean cyborg as love interest, while deeply sucking in writing both romance and Wolverine. Fun to roast and rewrite, somewhat entertaining to watch, not too amusing to remember. 4/10 for the potential

THE TALL GRASS - Now we're cooking! Classical lovecraftian short, where a man briefly encounters the Horrors, explained just enough to be more scary than your regular monster, but not enough to ruin the mystery. Also the animation is great and the whole concept of Horrors hiding in a tall grass just Appeals to me. 10/10

ALL TROUGHOUT THE HOUSE - I was kinda dreading this one, because I am a scaredy cat, but turns out nothing terrible even really happens, and now I don't know whether to be glad or disappointed. "Not suitable for children" my ass; look, it's true that the Entity design was appropriately gnarly, so I wouldn't want my kid to watch this, but if it did anyway, I could plausibly just claim the Entity is completely benevolent and just looks Like That so that kids are scared into being good. I mean, it could've demonstrated a miniscule level of malice by, like, eating their misbehaving dog or whatever. Nevertheless, it is a fun, bizzare little tale and the design of the Entity was so good that I still liked it a lot. 7/10

LIFE HUTCH - A fun, imaginative little piece of survival horror in space, even better than The Helping Hand from the previous volume. Also Michael B. Jordan is pretty, sue me. 9/10

THE DROWNED GIANT - This one was thoroughly spoiled for me by Jacob Geller. Good news is, very little actually happens in it anyway and it's more about the vibes than anything. Bad news is, the vibes were spoiled for me by Jacob Geller too. This one I think might've been more impactful in written form, or as a mostly silent movie, but as a movie with narration it just doesn't land. I recommend you read the original short story and/or watch the Jacob Geller video essay Fear Of Big Things Underwater. 5/10

[spacedewey]

That was at least partial hyperbole, but I thought about it. Narrowing it down to Amazing Spider-Man, because if you included all the other titles, it would be harder, and also, it would be just 3 separate runs on Spectacular Spider-Man by Bill Mantlo (RIP, but...).

For those of you just joining us, I've read nearly every Spider-Man comic ever made, most of them in the last 4 years. Let's put this long-ass answer under a cut.

#3: JM DeMatteis. Now, I know he has his boosters among Spider-Man fans, Kraven's Last Hunt, etc, etc. I'm not here to debate his relative merits, but I will say, generally speaking: Not a fan. But his run on ASM specifically, issues 389-406, takes Peter Parker into the first half of one of DeMatteis' most frequent story structures, and then just leaves him there. On Spectacular Spider-Man, DeMatteis loved to do stories where Peter was driven to the brink, seething with rage, wallowing in darkness, usually drugged and hallucinating (So many drugs!), in order to confront some terrible truth about himself and emerge stronger for it. Sometimes DeMatteis would do this bit in back-to-back stories. If you read it all close together, it becomes incredibly tedious and predictable. In his time on ASM, Peter sinks in to a depression and an endless rage over the death of his fake robot parents (THE NINETIES!) and just stays there. He declares that he is "The Spider," gives up on Peter Parker's life, refuses to take his mask off, come home, acknowledge Mary Jane in anyway, and ignores Aunt May until she up and dies (You know, "dies"). Then Ben Reilly shows up, and Peter goes even more insane. It's 15 issues of wallowing in pointless misery with no payoff and it is a chore to read. All of this, ostensibly, was to make Ben Reilly seem far more appealing by comparison and sell the idea that him being revealed as the real Peter is a good thing, which is fuckin' insane, but by the time any of that goes anywhere, DeMatteis is gone. There's no redemption at the end of the vision quest this time, just a painful, boring slog.

#2: Len Wein. Len wrote ASM from #151-180, and the book was just in a holding pattern. Nothing particularly noteworthy happened, unless it was something bad. Really terrible new villains like Rocket Racer and Big Wheel are introduced. Spider-Man, already kind of a jerk under previous writer Gerry Conway, is a full-blown asshole, just a completely unlikable character. Len wrote the 5-parter wherein Harry Osborn's psychiatrist puts him under hypnosis, finds out about the Green Goblin, and just... gives it a try. A middle aged man with no superpowers just starts flying around on a glider, throwing bombs at people and trying to take over the underworld, and is about as successful as the previous Goblins were. Then he accidentally blows himself up with a bomb that looks like an ink pen. Most of the run is just forgettable, and its most memorable moments are all really bad. Nothing of interest happens in Peter Parker's life. He was going to college, he keeps going to college. He was dating MJ, he keeps dating MJ. Just spinning the wheels until Len's good pal Marv Wolfman comes on board and really shakes things up in an underrated run.

#1: Nick Spencer. I wasn't originally thinking Nick was #1, per se, but... he really is. Chief amongst the complaints: Nick Spencer's ASM, Vol. 6, #1-74, begins with Peter Parker losing his job, and for the next 3 years, with the exception of 3 issues in the middle, Peter is unemployed and not worried about it, living in Manhattan in an apartment with 2 roommates, who are also not worried about it. All these characters are open to interpretation, but if your Peter Parker is broke and unbothered, you have fundamentally misunderstood the comic, and it can't be saved. But that makes sense, because this run isn't about Peter at all, and that's the other reason it deserves the #1 spot. It's about Spider-Man. In the 3 issues where Peter has a job, Spider-Man gets a job, not Peter. If any non-super characters appear, they appear as part of the Spider-Man plot, as MJ is kidnapped by villains, or Randy Robertson is dating a supervillain, etc. There is no personal life for what they used to call the "everyman" of Marvel Comics. It's an unmitigated, irredeemable disaster, and that's before the stupid zombie villain he spends 3 years teasing but not really doing anything with turns out to be nothing but an awkward retcon for Sins Past. I mean, yeah, that story sucked, but the culmination of 3 years of bullshit foreshadowing turning out to be a continuity patch to a story from 18 years prior that everyone else was content to just ignore is insane. Along the way, you also get Peter living with the villain Boomerang and just rolling with it, everyone being totally cool with Randy dating a supervillain, and pathetic remakes of famous stories like Kraven's Last Hunt and The Death of Jean DeWolff, "now much longer and much worse!" At least some of the blame lies with editor Nick Lowe, who approved all this, and also promoted literally every storyline as "the worst thing that ever happened to Spider-Man!" "The worst day of Peter Parker's life!" "The most shocking issue ever!" and then nothing happened in any of them. No one died, no relationships were changed, nothing. All sizzle, no steak, for 74 issues. Nick Lowe has been implying that the next issue of Spider-Man will kill Mary Jane for 5 years, he rolled it right into the current run after Spencer left. He should not be running this book. But, yeah, Nick Spencer. In addition to being a genuinely miserable human being in real life, terrible Spider-Man writer.

And that is my entirely-too-long answer.

(I want to go on record as not having purchased the Nick Spencer run. I have never bought a comic with his name on it. But I did read them all. To my detriment)

more people need to consume media how dedicated comics fans consume their media of choice

[mondoradiowmse]

11/01/23 Mondo Radio Playlist

Here's the playlist for this week's special membership drive edition of Mondo Radio, which you can download or stream here. This episode: "Robot Parade", featuring tunes about automatons and more! If you dig it, don't forget to follow the show on Facebook and Twitter or, even better, become a Sound Citizen today!

Artist - Song - Album

Kraftwerk - The Robots - The Robots (Single)

The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot - I Robot

The Buggles - I Love You (Miss Robot) - The Age Of Plastic

Tom Harrell - Robot Etude - Oak Tree

Joel McNeely - The Robot - The Day The Earth Stood Still (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

E. Nordgren - Crazy Robots - Crazy Robots (Single)

Louis And Bebe Barron - Flurry Of Dust - A Robot Approaches - Forbidden Planet (Original MGM Soundtrack)

The Tornados - Robot - Vampires, Cowboys, Spacemen & Spooks: The Very Best Of Joe Meek's Instrumentals

Rufus Thomas - Funky Robot (Pt. 1) - The Funkiest Man Alive: The Stax Funk Sessions 1967-1975

Bo Diddley - Do The Robot - The London Bo Diddley Sessions

Plastics - Robot - Plastics

The Saints - Do The Robot - (I'm) Stranded

Swell Maps - Robot Factory - Swell Maps In "Jane From Occupied Europe"

Guided By Voices - Gold Star For Robot Boy - Bee Thousand

Mogwai - Robot Chant - Rock Action

DJ Shadow - I Am Not A Robot - Our Pathetic Age

The Bad Plus - The Robots - It's Hard

Bilal - Robots - Airtight's Revenge

Mayer Hawthorne - Robot Love - Where Does This Door Go

The Lemonheads - Dirty Robot - Varshons

The Futureheads - Robot - The Futureheads

Weezer - I'm A Robot - Death To False Metal

Andrew Bird - Not A Robot, But A Ghost - Noble Beast

Neil Young - My New Robot (Home Host-Bot) - Peace Trail

Gorillaz - Intro: I Switched My Robot Off - Humanz

Damon Albarn - Everday Robots - Everyday Robots

The Flaming Lips - One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21 - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

Pet Shop Boys - Sad Robot World - Super

Daft Punk - Robot Rock - Human After All

Dirty Sound System - I Robot (Pilooski Edit) - Dirty Edits, Vol. 1

Röyksopp - The Girl And The Robot - Junior

Robyn - Robotboy - Robyn

Flight Of The Conchords - Robots - Flight Of The Conchords

They Might Be Giants - Robot Parade - No!

Yo Gabba Gabba! - The Robot Song - Music Is … Awesome!, Vol. 2

Go Genre Everything - Giant Robot - Domestic Dreams And Robots

Les Robots Musique - Good Night Little Robot - Plan 9

[agkrakow]

[47] Zimring, Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste

Now I may have to eat my words.

[48] Brooks, Quick, Margiela artisanal 2022 collection

And where the hell are we? Come on, dance.

[49] Max Ernst, Écritures

Interrogation au second degré

What kind of bird are you?

Êtes-vous niniche?

Un petit bleu?

Un ami?

Un vrai?

Gai?

Parisienne?

Un peu de calme

[50] Marx, Collected Works

At the same time the shadow gathered color, like a confused daguerreotype.

[51] Abelard, The Letters to Heloise and other Writings

Wine and youth together make a double conflagration.

[52] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

It's as heavy as sin and as hot as blazes.

[53] Jung, Memories Dreams Reflections

The burning one is eros, who hath the form of flame.

[54] Lindsay, Aerotropolis The Way Well Live Next

But Mumford confused the lobster with its shell.

[55] Handke, Crossing the Sierra de Gredos

All colors seemed to be gathered here, and the objects also revealed a new color—which had existed nowhere in the world until this morning—which had never before been seen by a human eye— and for which there was also no name and never would be—and rightly so.

[56] Einstein, The Meaning of Relativity

By multiplying all the components of the first tensor by all the components of the second tensor: Contraction.

[57] Deleuze Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus

These plaques constitute traits of expression of pure speed, carried on objects that are themselves mobile and moving. The relation between them is not that of form matter but of motif support, where the earth is no longer anything more than ground (sol), where there is no longer even any ground at all because the support is as mobile as the motif.They lend colors the speed of light, turning gold to red and silver to white light.

[58] Hobbes, Leviathan

These simple Passions called Appetite, Desire, Love, Aversion, Hate, Joy, and griefe, have their names for divers considerations diversified. As first, when they one succeed another, they are diversly called from the opinion men have of the likelihood of attaining what they desire. Secondly, from the object loved or hated.Thirdly, from the consideration of many of them together.Fourthly, from the Alteration or succession it selfe. Hope   For Appetite with an opinion of attaining, is called HOPE. Despaire   The same, without such opinion, DESPAIRE.

[59] Hegel, The Science of Logic

Water, in cooling, does not become hard a bit at a time, as if it became first like a porridge and would then gradually harden to the consistency of ice, but is hard all at once; it can persist in fluid state even at freezing temperature if it stands still, but then the least disturbance brings it to the state of solid.

[60] Michelet, The History of France Vol 2

Sound and sick would dance confusedly together.

[61] Moore, Complete Poems

Then the ermine: “rather dead than spotted”; and believe it despite reason to think not, I saw a bat by daylight; hard to credit but I knew that I was right.

[62] Red Hot Chili Peppers, Californication

First born unicorn Hardcore soft porn 

[63] Christopher Wool, Apocalypse Now

Sell the house sell the car sell the kids

[64] Nick Cave, Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow

I waved to my neighbour

My neighbour waved to me

But my neighbour

Is my enemy

I kept waving my arms

Till I could not see 

[65] Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Do you keep the rest of the city out of these blind eyed purlieus? How difficult and how unpalatable. Do you invite the rest of the city in? How difficult and how impossible.

[66] Borges, Collected Fictions

One of them was holding a branch (which belonged, no doubt, to the simple botany of dreams); another, with a sweeping gesture, held out a hand that was a claw; one of Janus' faces looked mistrustfully at Thoth's curved beak.

[67] Kerouac, On The Road

Just show me the bluefish spangle on a seafood menu and I’d eat it; let me smell the drawn butter and lobster claws.

[68] Derrida, Of Grammatology

Children scream, cry, but they don't sing. 

[walkwithursus]

Rules: pick an artist or a band and share your favourite song from each of their albums, then tag some mutuals!

Tagged by @rootingformephistopheles. When I do listen to songs, it’s usually a one-off here and there. It’s very rare for me to like an artist or band enough to consume their work across multiple albums. So here’s a random one from my teenage years. The Aquabats!

The Return of the Aquabats: Ska Robot Army

The Fury of the Aquabats: Super Rad

The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!: Canis Lupus

Charge!!: "Look at Me (I'm a Winner)!"

Hi-Five Soup: Lovers of Loving Love

Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2: Pool Party

This one is my favorite song of theirs. I fuck so heavily with this song.

The Aquabats! Super Show! Television Soundtrack: Volume One: Burger Rain

And I haven’t really listened to their new album all the way through, so I don’t have a favorite from Kooky Spooky.

Tagging: i don’t know! anybody who likes music :)

[multi-fandom-imagine]

A/n: man how can I not love him! It’s Nolan North! Also I take no credit for the gif!

Briggs didn’t know how he ended up in this mess, miles from any civilization with a gun pointed at his chest. He knew it would be suicide to leave the home due to the freezing weather and he knew it would be suicide to shot. Finger still gripping his gun the man locked eyes with you as he slowly placed the gun on the ground. 

“Slide it to me...now.”

You weren’t shaking, your hand was steady on the trigger and he wondered if you’ve been in this situation before.

“Okay.” Keeping his gaze on you he slide the gun towards you as it moved across the hardwood floor. Kneeling down you picked the gun up, sliding it in your waist band you gave him a nod. “Up!”

“Y/n...please....no more violence.”

“He came here to kill you Rosie and your child...I’m not letting him do that.”

Then he saw her, along with the small child clinging to the woman's skirts. “Please.”

Briggs tried not to flinch at the pleading in the voice.When he first saw you the man was interested, you were kind to everyone that lived in the slums so he found himself going down to see you more even getting the nerve to talk to you. He enjoyed spending time with you, you were different then her. He liked the more blue tones you wore over the red he was constantly seeing. You were kind though you also cared about the people around you and weren't afraid to stand up when something was wrong.

But then one day he saw it, you slipped into a small shot. He didn’t know what to make of it so he followed and when he saw your perches a small stuffed toy he could have sworn his heart nearly stopped. You had a kid? were you a breeder? He didn’t think he could kill you if that was the case though the man was thankful no one else saw.

“Y/n...I won’t.’

“Don’t you dare say my name....I know what you do.”

He hated seeing tears in those pretty eyes of yours, the very eyes he found himself getting lost in when ever you spoke.

“I’ll leave...I won’t say a thing and you won’t see me again.” It was true, he’d do anything to keep you safe. While he was not looking forward to stepping out in that storm he knew that he had to keep what little trust he had. Backing out he kept his gaze on you.

With your gun still trained on the man you had to blink your tears away as he slipped out the door.

“Y/n...you have to go after him.”

You knew your friend was right, this house was farm from anything and with that storm coming his chance of not freezing to death was low. Closing your eyes for a moment you turned back to your friend, her child was in her arms. The little boy clinging to a dinosaur plush as he buried his face into his mothers neck. “Christ...” Swallowing thickly you knew what you had to do, you couldn’t just leave him out in the cold. Not after the small moments you two had shared, not when you felt something for the man. “Go up to your room and lock the door alright...I’ll be back.”

Grabbing a large coat then slipping in on you quickly slipped out the door. The harsh wind biting at your exposed skin. You tried not to think about what Briggs might be going through when all he wore was a suite. Trudging through the snow you tried to scan for his foot prints but it was hard with all the snow being kicked up. He didn’t know this place like you did, it would be easy for him to get lost. Wetting your lips you noticed a small indentation in the snow, knowing you were on the right track. Walking a few more feet you spotted a black shoe, closing your eyes tightly you wished you would not be stumbling upon his body.

Finding him resting against a tree you let out a breath of relief seeing his chest rise. “Thank god.” Moving closing to the man you removed the gloves you were wearing placing your hands against his cheeks, he felt so cold. Biting your lip you wrapped your arm around his waist hoping it would wake the man. “Come on Briggs, get up.”

“Y/n?” Briggs couldn’t understand why he felt so warm, he was cold a minute ago and why were you here?

“Yes....now come on and help me...can you stand?”

Gritting his teeth Briggs placed his hand against the bark of the tree, his legs shaking as he stood. “Yes.”

It took longer to get the man back to the house than it did to look for him. You could feel him shaking by your side as you helped him near the fire place. Biting your lip you shrugged off the large coat then grabbed one of the blankets. Placing it over the mans shoulders you heard Briggs let out a small sigh, you noticed how tired he actually looked.

“Why did you save me? You could have left me to die...I wouldn’t have blamed you y/n.”

Biting your tongue you sat beside him, his gaze on glued to the fire place his body tensing for a moment when your grasped his hand. “I did it because...I still care about you Briggs.”

“Why? After what I’ve done....I.”

Shaking your head you shifted your body, you were trying to figure out your words. “It’s....I don’t know Briggs....you can’t just turn that off...part of me hates you for what you’ve done but I know you’re a good man...do you still care about me?”

“Y/n...of course I do.”

Letting go of your hand the man placed his own against your cheek. It still felt cold but you were happy you felt some warmth to them. “I...think I love you y/n.”

Two years, it’s been two years since Briggs followed you home. Two years since he faked his death and it’s been two years since he has had a child of his own. The home he was now living in was bigger, it was hard not to expand the little home since his own family was growing, he was grateful for your friend still being here. He didn’t know what to do when he first found out you were pregnant, it scared him.

When his child was still a infant Briggs rarely went out, he couldn’t risk anyone recognizing him. Scratching his beard the man glanced around the property, his eyes scanning the area to make sure his family wouldn’t be compromised. “Briggs? something wrong?”

Snapping out of his day dream he turned to face you, a small smile forming on his face as he walked over to you. “Nothing is wrong...in fact...everything his perfect.” Taking his daughter from your arms he placed a small kiss to your forehead as he then gave her a playful toss in the air. “How about we go for a swim?”

“YES!!”

Little girl cheering you let out a soft laugh shaking your head, you were happy. Happy that Briggs put that life behind him, happy that your little girl was healthy and happy that things were finally going right.

Everything was perfect.

[tivisiries]

[youve-doomed-us-all-jerk]

me, knowing full well robert valley did the character design for motorcity: hey this robert valley short in LD+R reminds me of motorci- *gunshot*

[happymeishappylife]

Comics/Graphic Novels I Read in 2023

1. Doctor Who: Weapons of Past Destruction by Calvin Scott, Blair Shedd, Rachel Sottt, and Anang Setyawan

The Doctor, Rose, and Jack get caught up in a galaxy where two aliens are using timelord technology to prevent others from using time travel in order to prevent another time war. However, good their intentions are, the Doctor proves to them its wrong while also saving Rose multiple times.

2. Doctor Who: A Matter of Life and Death by George Mann, Emma Vieceli, and Hi Fi

The Doctor meets a young woman named Josie who has very strong animae powers that bring her drawings to life. Once he saves that situation, he finds a note from himself with coordinates and him and Josie go on some life changing and crazy adventures. I love Josie, she’s cool. And the fact that it’s Twelve and Clara who hook her up with the Eighth Doctor is quite lovely a nice surprise.

3. Neil Gaiman’s Tecknophage Vol 2. by Bryan Talbot, Paul Jenkins, and James Vance

Returning to the world of Tecknophage, we see the pitfalls and the ruin of the man who runs the universe, kind of. I appreciate and also hated that so much of this book resonated with what’s going on in my country right now regarding politics. How Tecknophage very clearly is the example of one side. But watching as others find ways to subvert, rise up, and save themselves was encouraging until the end where Henry Phage returns to his world that is still running off of human suffering and slave labor. I am looking forward to reading more of the other characters in this series if I can find them.

4. I Want to Be a Wall Volume 2 by Honami Shirono

I really love this series. Now that we’ve gotten to know Yuriko and Gakurouta it was interesting to see them explain how they met through the arranged marriage application but become friends first before deciding to eventually get married. I also loved the way they explored both of them learning more about each other and also wanting to be good partners while both accepting that sometime in the future if the other ever felt differently they would leave. It’s such a wholesome exploration of QPRs and also I love that we got to meet Momo-kun, Yuriko’s bisexual friend who introduced her to the term asexuality. I think he and Gakurouta’s talk was really great and beautiful to explain asexuality.

5. Is Love the Answer? By Uta Isaki

In this graphic novel we meet Chika who feels like an alien because she doesn’t experience romantic or sexual attraction. And honestly I was worried the first couple pages because she was almost traumatized by the ‘typical’ relationship standards that her boyfriends wanted and she didn’t, but it ended up being a great exploration of learning about your sexuality, your interpretations of your sexuality, boundaries, and feeling good in your own skin. I loved the instant friendship she had with Enomoto and Ito but I really loved her interactions with Ume even if his story was a little sad.

6. Saga Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

It’s been a while since I’ve been in the saga universe but I always wanted to go back to it and I’m glad I did. It’s such a unique and fascinating world and learning about Marko and Alana and how they met and fell in love over a book that was secretly coded to stop the war between their peoples is fascinating. Especially since the whole story is narrated by their daughter Hazel who is just a baby in the scenes we see. I’m also still very intrigued by the slave girl that is rescued and Prince Robot the IV.

7. Saga Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

In this volume we learn why Alana, Marko, and crew are in the writer’s house after the last cliffhanger we had and that they have been there for a while. Alana and Marko were hoping for answers on what to do next now that they followed the story, but the writer only helps push them along with help from Marko’s mother. Though what will happen next is unknown since they are about to fight their way out. Seeing the story of The Will and Slave Girl was interesting and a good twist to give more humanity to the Will, though the need for romance between him and Gwen seems to be a push. We’ll see where it goes now that The Will has been taken out of the picture for now.

8. March Book 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

I learned about this amazing graphic novel because Andrew Aydin was in the Comic Censorship Panel I went to at Heroes Con in 2022. He spoke about March which is now required reading for many schools, but I had never heard of it and since it came out after I was in school maybe that’s why. Still, it’s the graphic narrative and biography of John Lewis’ life and its fantastic as well as hard. This book, which is the first of three, tackled John’s early years growing up on his family’s farm and his rise through his college years where he learned and practiced nonviolent protest as a student to start becoming the Civil Rights leader we know him best for. I’m sure the more we go, the harder some stories will go, but I’m eager to read them and I also love that it is also shown as John looking back before he attends Obama’s inauguration.

9. Sandman Volume 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman, Kelley Jones, Malcom Jones III, Charles Vess, and Colleen Doran

So this is where Calliope and A Dream of A Thousand Cats came from! I’m a little sad that I didn’t read these before the episodes dropped, but while Dream of a Thousand Cats was done shot for shot, I’m actually really glad for the way they updated Calliope because I would have been filled with dread to watch it. I mean the basic story elements are the same but Richard Madoc in the comic is way more of a deplorable than the way he's portrayed in the show, because he automatically just starts raping Calliope with no care. Not that he doesn’t begin to in the show, but I think the character change to make him more likeable at first because he doesn’t want to force her, he just wants help to write his novel, but he ignores her wishes to be free with her promise to help and that desperation to not give away the power I think is a better retelling of how greed can actually influence people is so much stronger. I can’t wait to watch it again. A Midsummers Night Dream was fun to see the twist on how Shakespeare performed for the actual fairies that inspired the play and I would love to see Façade adapted because I can totally picture Kirby Baptiste as Death in it and she would knock it out of the park. Can’t wait for more.

10. March Book 2 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

Another powerful book in the retelling of John Lewis’ life and his leading actions in the civil rights movement. There were times in this book that were powerful and times absolutely unimaginable because of the horror and the violence committed against black Americans. Especially because while the Kennedys tried to help they didn’t know how to navigate past the racism that this country was founded on and still exists today. And that was probably the most chilling part. That we are still dealing with this all these years later. But as quoted in the final pages of this book, this is important to tell for the next generation of leaders and we must continue the fight until it is won.