#taia

[puppetwoman17]

If you were to ask anyone from Fawcett about a hero that ISNT from there, they would be clueless.

Ask Joan Jameson to cover Batman and Robin, the greatest detectives, and she’ll tilt her head. “Oh, you mean Scarlet and Pinky, don’t ya? Ha! Yeah, those guys are great!”

You couldn’t PAY Cissie Sommerly to recognize the Flash or Superman.

“Huh, Cap must be wearing a new outfit.”

“lol, that’s the weirdest Cap cosplay I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t have a cowl people! And that lightning bolt is too small. Also, where’s the cape???”

Someone talks to Sunny about that one superhero couple that have known each other since ancient times. They’re so romantic, Sunny! THE Power Couple.

“Oh totally! Ibis and Taia are so cute together!”

“Uh…no, I was talking about Hawkman and Hawkgirl.”

“…Sorry, who?”

Oh, and the whole team too. You could ask a Fawcett person anything about the Justice League, and they’d draw a point blank. But the Squadron of Justice??? Those guys are like walking talking Wikipedias.

[chernobog13]

Art by Kurt Schaffenberger who, after C.C. Beck, is the only artist I ever wanted drawing these characters.

The Squadron of Justice, the Earth-S superteam made up of the Fawcett Comics characters that DC first licensed, then acquired outright. Clockwise from top left: Mr. Scarlet and his sidekick Pinky; Spy Smasher; Ibis the Invincible and his wife, Taia; Bulletman and Bulletgirl; and the Marvel Family - Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel Jr.

The team was introduced in Justice League of America (vol. 1) #135-137 (1976) during the annual Justice League-Justice Society crossover.

The only member missing is the god Mercury, who was responsible for putting the team together. However, Mercury was never a Fawcett hero, just someone who lent the Marvel family his powers. He was included in the story mainly to serve as Earth-S's analogue for the Flash.

Unfortunately, this was the first and only appearance of this team. DC never revisited the concept, and ten years later there was that whole Crisis On Infinite Earths thing which destroyed the multiverse (and DC is still, to this day, trying to undo the damage done by that event).

BTW, this was actually the second time the Squadron of Justice name had been used by Fawcett characters. Waaaaay back in Whiz Comics #21 (September, 1941) readers were introduced to Captain Marvel's Squadron of Justice.

Cover art by C.C. Beck.

This issue introduced the three different boys each named Billy Batson. When they said "Shazam!" together along with the original Billy they were transformed into the three Lieutenant Marvels. The four Marvels then joined forces to battle a team of villains that Dr. Sivana put together.

While the Lieutenant Marvels would appear several more times over the years, the Squadron of Justice name was never used again.

[momachan]

"You want guilt? My name's Zatanna Zatara. I'm a spellaholic."

Seven Soldiers Of Victory; Book One. "Zatanna. Talking Backwards."

[dontever-becomeastranger]

if anyone gets this i love you

[radroller]

Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1 “Talking Backwards”

Written by Grant Morrison, Illustrated by Ryan Sook and Mick Gray

[billybatsonmylove]

[doctorslippery]

[void-shades]

I have always wanted to make a reality jumper character that just hangs out in my current fixation so I did! I also took the chance to actually try and digitally paint something to “completion”

[corneille-moisie]

Taia - Sakura

[puppetwoman17]

“B-but how come Ibis and Taia—“

Cap: Ibis and Taia don’t follow me around and ask for “just a whiff”.

Ibis and Taia: 😏

So we’ve all heard of Magic Users avoiding Captain because of Champion of Magic stuff, but what if it was the other way around?

What if, instead of being intimidated by Marvel and thus actively avoid being in his presence, they seek him out, or at least his magic out.

His magic is straight out of the Rock of Eternity, the source of all Magic. For a magic user or being, it would feel like going home.

Whilst every magician has their own magical signature which makes them them, this magic is unfiltered, raw and by all means, pure. So much so it’s blinding, it feels good to be around, and long exposure would bring some effects.

And what if Billy got bad experiences of magic users getting hooked on his magic, that he had to physically keep his distance, or put in wards or magical warnings of those who come too close for no reason.

It could explain why Fawcette has a magical population but not so much many magic users. Magical Creatures are welcome, they themselves are also creatures of magic, and so don’t feel as compelled to seek it out once exposed. If anything, it just makes them nicer to Cap.

Billy has been here since the 50s, and the Champion of Magic has been here longer. It’s entirely possible, even probable that he had to deal with magic users slowly becoming obsessed with his magic. Maybe give him a scenario where he has a mentor who was teaching him magic, and over time, have that mentor loose himself and become obsessive. A mentor he had to fight and later died because he wanted Billy’s magic.

It’s why he only uses magic when necessary.

It’s why he keeps his title a secret.

And why he can’t afford to spend too much time with the JLD, Raven or other magic users he likes. He doesn’t want a repeat of what happened.

[puppetwoman17]

Instead of the years in the time bubble going by like 🫰, what if their lives went on in their heads. What if their bodies were all still kept in unaging stasis, but their minds played out the most perfect versions of their lives.

Billy and Mary got to grow up with their parents, and they lived with them and their uncle and cousin in a by mansion, always happy.

Freddy never lost his parents, and his grandpa never died. Despite not letting his disability get to him, he lives in this mindscape with two functioning legs. Kit is alive.

Ibis and Taia are in ancient Egypt, living out their sublime love life together, with no trace of the memories of their messy relationship.

Ebenezer’s son lived. He isn’t dying of old age in his bed. He’s healthy. He has more money than he could ever want.

Susan Barr is alive. Jim and her raise their daughter, continuing their crime-fighting partnership.

Mr. Morris has his whole family with him. They all live in Fawcett, and he gets to see them whenever he wants.

Sivana’s wife never left him. In fact, he’s a free, good man with all four of his children.

Ibac has never been Ibac. He’s only Stanley Printwhistle, and every insult bounces back on him. He’s sure of himself.

There are others.

The widow from the 1800s who dances with her husband and plays in the courtyard with her children.

The caveman whose family died, crushed under their own home, now with him as he runs to slaughter another bull.

The girl who ran away from her abusive foster home, now reunited with her parents and older sister.

The boy whose war veteran father was a picture perfect cutout, and not an abusive monster who needs to rot in jail.

Over the years, slowly, so very slowly, it all begins to collapse. Because perfection feels wrong, even if you aren’t aware. Because memories can overlap, and they can intersect.

CC Batson is alive, but Billy remembers looking in a mirror and seeing blue eyes instead of green (why does he look in a mirror and see his dad’s face?)

Freddy’s leg feels funny. Always has. He can walk fine, but there’s always a tingling sensation there.

Sivana doesn’t expect all four of his children to be home.

The boy watches his father’s hand carefully in case it speeds toward his cheek. He doesn’t know why.

Over time, their minds break free from their perfect prisons. The real world shows its disgusting face. Fawcett looks just like it always has, but so much…heavier. The leaves have overgrown, and the sidewalk is chipped of its paint.

The dead are dead.

Those trapped in time are still trapped in time.

Some relatives don’t get better.

And Fawcett City’s people must grapple with the fact that their perfectly curated reality was all a lie.

Almost simultaneously, there is an unspoken promise. What happened here will never be spoken of.

They will rebuilt their city. Their lives. And they will move forward. And they will forget what their minds conjured in an attempt to keep them pliant.

It is a closely guarded Fawcett secret, hidden behind their bright smiles and eagerness to move on. They don’t want to think about it.

Sometimes they dream though.

Billy dreams of going to a coffee shop with Mary and mom and dad.

Sivana dreams that he kissed his wife good morning and hopped off to his respectable job.

The runaway girl dreams that she’s only running toward her new home.

But when they wake up, it’s never spoken of again.

[chernobog13]

Ibis the Invincible #6 (Spring, 1948). Cover by Kurt Schaffenberger.

I miss the old timey Fawcett characters. I wish DC would bring back Earth-S, and put all the Fawcett characters (including the Marvel Family) back on it.

Because I have, for the most part, not liked what DC has done with the characters since the forced integration with the rest of the DC Universe post-Crisis On Infinite Earths. If they were all back on Earth-S we could go back to the light hearted, all-ages typer stories without the need to make everyone modern and edgy.

[momachan]

"Okay. Spellaholic's a problem. It's official."

Seven Soldiers Of Victory; Book One. "Zatanna. Talking Backwards."

[puppetwoman17]

Really pisses me off, if I’m being honest. Billy’s been relegated to just this kid who doesn’t make good decisions and isn’t worthy or whatever. He’s such a doofus in the DCAMU(movies like JL war I mean) when he’s Cap—no, sorry, SHAZAM. Not that I don’t love our bean, but he was chosen for a reason! I at least like the YJ tv show interpretation where he’s a mix of an inexperienced kid, and a good-natured, wise hero. Or the JL unlimited animated episode centering around him. He’s good there too.

His fellow Fawcett heroes, who had such potential to be well known like the JL and Avengers, are now barely, if not ever used. Fawcett city itself is all but gone, used in a few comics with “Earth S”, but that’s it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to still have Billy and the Captain at all, but still… It’s like this was all for nothing.

DC should have been forced to write about characters they bought, honestly. To my mind (which, albeit, isn't thinking too hard about it right now) that's the only thing that makes sense. You're going to buy Fawcett and Quality and Charlton? Fine, then you better use their characters! They should have been forced to keep writing Captain Marvel/Shazam, Bulletman, Ibis the Invincible, Plastic Man, Phantom Lady, Human Bomb, Judo Master, The Question, etc. These characters had potential, yet they mostly got relegated to the rank of C or D listers nowadays. Which really tells me DC isn't treating them well! If you don't want to use your characters DC, then you never should have bought them! I'm sure some indie publishers would be dying to do Ibis the Invincible or Bulletman or Spy-Smasher stories! I'm sure they would!

[queerlitaroundtheworld]

6 Queer Novels from Africa

(that aren't from Nigeria or South Africa - I truly appreciate that South Africa and Nigeria have such vibrant queer publishing scenes, but this list is trying to highlight some lesser known books)

1. These Letters End in Tears by Musih Tedji Xaviere (Cameroon)

2. The Sex Lives of African Woman by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah (set in multiple countries, author is from Ghana)

3. Obligations to the Wounded: Stories by Mubanga Kalimamukwento (Zambia)

4. All Men Want to Know by Nina Bouraoui (Algeria)

5. Stories of Our Lives: An Archive of Kenyan Queer Narratives (Kenya)

6. Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman (Somalia)

[collageofnudes]

Taia Tulher by Dan Cristian Filimon

part 6 / 7 (part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , part 4 , part 5 , part 7)