#thank you for the daniele and andrea storyline

[charliewrites99]

Ludovico, I just want to talk about that ending, Ludovico I just- I just wanna talk...Ludo-Ludovic- LUDOVICO WHEN I CATCH YOU-

[gamergirlandvixen]

🎉 Exciting News! Gamer Girl & Vixen: Tyrant Lizard Queen Kickstarter Launches! 🎉

Greetings to all our amazing past supporters and a warm welcome to all new backers! We are absolutely thrilled to kick off our Kickstarter campaign for Gamer Girl & Vixen: Tyrant Lizard Queen, the electrifying second volume in our beloved comic book series!

🌟 Welcome Back, Past Supporters: To all of you who have been with us since the beginning, thank you for your unwavering support and enthusiasm. Your continued belief in Gamer Girl & Vixen has fueled our passion and creativity, and we couldn't be more grateful to have you on this journey with us once again.

🚀 Calling All New Backers: If you're new to the world of Gamer Girl & Vixen, welcome aboard! Get ready to dive headfirst into a world of super-powered adventure, thrilling heists, and heartwarming moments as our dynamic duo navigates the challenges of being lesbian super-villains in a crazy world.

🖊️ Returning Writers: Kristi McDowell and Sean Ian Mills are back at the helm, ready to weave another captivating tale filled with twists, turns, and plenty of laughs.

🎨 New Art Team: Joining us for this exciting adventure are the incredibly talented Andrea Rosales and Daniel Carvalho, who will be bringing our characters and story to life with their stunning artwork.

🖋️ Returning Letterer: Taylor Esposito is back once again to lend his expert lettering skills, ensuring that every word pops off the page with clarity and impact.

✂️ Edited by: Jamieson Alcorn is guiding us through the editing process, ensuring that every panel shines and every storyline is finely tuned to perfection.

💖 Exciting Rewards: Backers can look forward to a variety of exciting rewards, including the chance to donate a copy of the book to a local library, secure a speaking or non-speaking role in the comic, and commission custom art from the incredibly talented Andrea Rosales!

🎨 Share the Campaign: Gamer Girl & Vixen: Tyrant Lizard Queen Kickstarter

Join us on this exhilarating journey as we continue to champion LGBTQ+ representation and storytelling in the world of comics. Whether you're a returning supporter or a newcomer, your support means the world to us, and we can't wait to embark on this adventure together!

Thank you for being a part of the Gamer Girl & Vixen family. Let's make magic happen once again!

🔗 Connect with us:

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Spread the word and share our campaign with your friends and fellow comic lovers!

[doamarierose-honoka]

Free Comic Book Day is rapidly approaching, marking a time of year when comic book fans come out in droves to support their local shops.

There’s been some form of a Free Comic Book Day every year since 2002, with comic shops and comic pros coming together to make it an event that includes signings, contests, and more.

A lot of that success is thanks to the involvement of the publishers, who offer up some of their biggest titles. FCBD is now where the biggest storylines and newest titles are teased first, meaning this is the go-to event if you’re looking forward to 2024’s biggest stories.

What is Free Comic Book Day?

Always held the first Saturday in May, Free Comic Book Day is an annual event where retailers offer up free comics as promotional items. The event tends to be fairly massive, even more so than events like Batman Day.

The first Free Comic Book Day took place in 2002, organized by comic shop owner Joe Field and Image Comics co-founder Jim Valentino. The original event was scheduled to coincide with the release of Spider-Man as a means of capitalizing on the positive interest in comics being generated by a new wave of successful comic book movies, like X-Men and Blade.

Ultimate Spider-Man takes center stage for Marvel’s FCBD 2024 offerings.

The original release date stuck as a tradition, with every FCBD taking place the first Saturday in May (the lone exception being 2004’s event, which was shuffled to July to the release of Spider-Man 2).

The comics themselves are free, but retailers do still pay for them, albeit at a heavily discounted rate, with publishers covering the production cost of the comics. As such, many fans consider it good etiquette to support your local store by buying a few comics while you’re there for the freebies.

Availability of the comics can vary based on location. To find out where your local store is, you can check out at Comic Shop Locator.

Every available Free Comic Book Day 2024 title

Free Comic Book Day takes place May 4, 2024. Here’s every comic that will be offered through Diamond Distributors for FCBD 2024.

Every FCBD 2024 Gold Title

Blood Hunt/X-Men #1

(W) Jed MacKay, Gail Simone (A) Sara Pichelli, David Marquez (CA) Kael Ngu

Time once again for a shot of all-new Marvel goodness, absolutely free! First, witness the overture to this summer’s major crossover event starring the Avengers – Blood Hunt! And then get a glimpse of the future of mutantkind as Jubilee learns that you cannot go home again!

Exclusive Original Material

Rating: Teen

The New Adventures of Encanto/Turning Red #1

(W) Bill Presing, Sloane Leong, Amparo Ortiz (A) Andrea Greppi, Sergio Algozzino

A double-sided preview featuring new stories that continue the adventures of Encanto and Turning Red. In Encanto: Tall Tales, Mirabel, Camilo, and Antonio battle a bully by spinning a yarn about an even bigger baddie…with magical results! Meanwhile, in Turning Red: Panda Problems, Meilin Lee struggles with containing her inner furry self. Her friends and family are her only hope to battle these hairy emotions!

Preview Material

Rating: All-Ages

DC FCBD Special Edition

It’s an exciting new project from DC, but it’s being kept under lock and key for the time being. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months!

Energon Universe Special

(W) Robert Kirkman, Daniel Warren Johnson, Joshua Williamson (A) Lorenzo De Felici, Various (A/CA) Ryan Ottley

Discover three all new stories from the Energon Universe, with stunning revelations for the worlds of Transformers, G.I. Joe and Void Rivals from the biggest names in comics.

A perfect jumping on point for new readers and a can’t miss for long-term fans.

Hellboy/Stranger Things

(W) Mike Mignola, Derek Fridolfs (A) Mark Laszlo, Jonathan Case (CA) Mike Mignola

Um . . . stories from Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, AND Stranger Things? Yes, please! In Hellboy, “The Fortune Teller,” Hellboy consults a crystal ball-reader for help solving a murder, but things go off the rails when she gets distracted reading Hellboy’s own future. Then, in Stranger Things, “Deliver Me From Evil,” Argyle and Jonathan swap fantastical and scary tales as they make one last pizza delivery for the night.

Original Exclusive Material

Rating: Teen

Jonny Quest

The fantastic scifi-adventure exploits of 11-year-old Jonny Quest as he travels to exotic locales around the world with; his scientist father Dr. Benton Quest, his adoptive brother Hadji, his bodyguard Race Bannon, and his faithful dog Bandit. Join the Quest team in tackling new government assignments, solving mysteries and apprehending sophisticated villains for the betterment of mankind.

Pokemon Adventures: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire/Splattoon

Awesome Pokémon adventures inspired by the best-selling Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire video games! Sapphire and Emerald need Ruby’s help to stop a crisis of planetary proportions-a meteor hurtling toward their home! Can three Hoenn Pokédex holders stop a crisis of epic magnitude?

Paired with all-new adventures featuring the beloved characters from the hit Nintendo Splatoon video games! Goggles is back with new friends and new battles! Goggles travels to the Splatlands, meets an inkling named Braid, and embarks on a fresh series of adventures set in the world of Splatoon!

Preview Material

Rating: All-Ages

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

It’s been four decades since Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird released the very first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in May 1984. Join us as we kick off a brand-new era for the Heroes in a Half Shell with two all-new short stories and a preview of what’s next in the IDW comics.First, there is a new masked vigilante in New York, looking to carry on the tradition set by the Turtles themselves. Get a special prelude of the new miniseries, straight from the mind of Juni Ba (Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder; Monkey Meat).

Second, a blast from the past! A brand-new tale told in a classic IDW style, featuring fan-favorite talent Paul Allor (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Street Fighter) and Andy Kuhn.

Finally, there will be an exclusive preview of what’s next for TMNT!

Exclusive Original Material

Rating: All-Ages

The Worlds of James Tynion IV

(W) James Tynion Iv (A) Eryk Donovan, Michael Dialynas, Werther Dell’Edera

On the eve of the 5-year anniversary of Something is Killing the Children and the 10-year anniversary of The Woods and Memetic, celebrate James Tynion IV’s iconic run of horror classics at BOOM! Studios in this exclusive FCBD special.

Featuring a curated line-up of some of his most terrifying and thought-

provoking stories, alongside exciting teases of what’s to come and an exclusive collectible cover, this is one issue that fans will not want to miss.

Reprint Material

Rating: Teen

Ultimate Universe Spider-Man #1

(W) Zeb Wells, Deniz Camp (A) Juan Frigeri (A/CA) Ryan Stegman

Just weeks ahead of Amazing Spider-Man #50, get the first taste of the return of the Goblin! Plus, prepare for the next evolutionary step of the Ultimate Universe as a powerful new hero debuts! But it doesn’t end there! Oh no, there are some surprises up our sleeve on this one!

Exclusive Original Material

Rating: Teen

Unicorn Crush

(W) Dana Simpson (A) Dana Simpson

Love and magic are in the air in this enchanting collection of Phoebe and Her Unicorn comic strips featuring Phoebe and her one-of-a-kind unicorn friend, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils. Young readers will enjoy the caring and comedic adventures of this colorful duo as they rediscover the magic in themselves and in each other. Whether you’re a devoted fan or new to the spellbinding world of Phoebe and Marigold, Unicorn Crush will leave you with a smile on your face and a warm, sparkly feeling in your heart.

Preview Material

Rating: All-Ages

Witches of Brooklyn

(W) Sophie Escabasse (A/CA) Sophie Escabasse

The smash-hit Witches of Brooklyn series returns! Join Effie and friends on a one-of-a-kind, magical adventure in this new story from Sophie Escabasse. Featuring fun activities, new and existing fans can jump right into this exclusive comic!

Exclusive Original Material

Rating: All-Ages

[certainlybyitslast]

Chicago Fire/Hawkami/Jimmy Nicholas

Who else is already twiddling their thumbs this hiatus?  Also, are you living off the small morsels of social media the cast is giving us (thank you, Daniel Kyri on Instagram, you are generous).  Have you been listening to Jimmy Nicholas’s podcast “Everything But The Kitchen Sink?”  I watch so few movies, and I’ve never watched one “Fast and Furious” movie, but I have enjoyed Jimmy and Kyle talk about them with such passion.  It’s fun listening to people who care about (sometimes small) things get worked up.  Especially good friends.  The Sinkies are great too.  I can’t listen to the basketball stuff.  There I draw the line.  However, I hope there are more podcasts in the works!  We need an EBTKS Chicago Fire episode featuring Hanako!

I am feeling optimistic about Hawkami for a few reasons.

1) Everyone thought the writers were going to mess up Hawakmi LONG AGO.  But they didn’t.  They kept moving Hawkami forward, and even though it got very complicated, they capitalized on the popularity and didn’t pull the rug out from under us.  They understand that Hawakmi has fans, energy, and momentum.  Andrea Newman said in an interview that the writers love writing them.  They found a new muse, and its unlike to go away.

2) At the time of the finale, Jimmy would likely not have signed a contract for Season 11.  So the producers and writers do not have a guarantee that Jimmy would be back next season (also, Derek Haas says they don’t think that far ahead anyway when it comes to resolving finales). The finale has to leave the door open for Hawkins to be out of the picture in a reasonable story line, in case Jimmy does not come back.  Hence the frustrating ending to the finale.  It seemed strange that Violet would be mad at Hawkins and not talk about it with him, and that she would look at Gallo a certain way.  But it can all be corrected in a matter of minutes.  I don’t see a time jump happening in the premiere of Season 11 (because of that Stellaride end scene).  So we could arrive right back to the night of the wedding and have things restored in the premiere (hopefully in a sweepingly romantic way).

3) Jimmy Nicholas, bless his heart, is still giving Chicago Fire (cast, etc.) love on social media.  If he was done with it, he likely wouldn’t do that.  His birthday celebration featured firefighter gear and “I heart Evan Hawkins” t-shirts worn by friends.  I think he is sticking around.  When it came to Hanako, she wasn’t announced as a series regular until late June.  If we get into July with no news, then maybe Jimmy stays a guest star in Season 11 (back and forth to NY, which is maybe what he wants), but I think we still get him back as much as we had him in Season 10.  (Also, anyone else out there loving Jimmy?  I hesitate getting to know actors, because you usually learn things you don’t like about them, but this Jimmy guy keeps winning in my book.  He seems so genuine.  He caught a great break with Chicago Fire, and its hard not to root for him.  Sometimes he seems like a golden retriever on speed, but that’s still adorable too).

4) As much as I love Jimmy, the real story of Season 10 was how Violet blossomed as a character, and how well Hanako carried these big storylines.  Jimmy owes much of his success to Hanako.  It was her story we were told this past season (we don’t know much about Hawkins at all, which means there are more stories to be told as we find out his backstory and all the reasons those two kids feel in love).  Unlike a typical slow burn “will they/won’t they,” Hawakami is “they will/they are” and here’s how.  Let’s all go on the journey together.  I’m in.

In a few months we’ll get the dynamic duo of Sylvie Brett and Violet Mikami back, which is awesome.  Sprinkle in some Hawkami, and as the kids say (frequently, Jimmy too), LET’S GOOOOOO!

[muqiing]

tagged by @leonzhng​ thanks for making me dig through my most embarrassing crushes 😭✋

i’ll tag @highwarlockkareena​ @yibobibo​ @lan-xichens​ @purplexedhuman​ @aheartfullofjolllly​ @lanzhansmiles​ @nyx4​ i feel like i tag you guys in everything i am so sorry please ignore this if u don’t wanna do it !!

putting this under a read more for reasons

MEN 2010 – 2016

literally nothing more embarrassing than falling on the same type of white man over and over again (with the exception of minho from shinee bless his heart)

tommy joe ratliff → he was the bass player for adam lambert during his glamnation era (think of songs like for your entertainment and if i had you) idk why exactly i liked him so much but i just did.... however i searched him up again quite recently and found out he’s one of those republicans that says the dumbest shit on twitter so Big Yikes

harry styles → “baby you light up my world like nobody else, the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, and when you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell...” and BOOM 13-year-old me was sold for well over two years

louis tomlinson → basically i liked harry most until around 2013 when for some reason i started to like him a little less, and i got more focused on louis tomlinson, and although i didn’t like one direction anymore louis tomlinson always had a special place in my heart

ashton irwin → so ashton is 5sos’ drummer, i discovered 5sos through one direction & i stanned them until late 2014

harries twins → the harries twins (jack & finn) are basically the reason i started spending a lot of time on youtube, they were funny and pretty and they just had good videos in general, so for almost two years i’d watch their content regularly

choi minho → my first steps into kpop happened bc i was watching videos on youtube (most probably the harries twins) and suddenly i saw the sherlock mv in my recommended videos so i clicked on it and then 14-year-old me proceeded to fall for minho like an idiot

brooks twins → still youtubers, the brooks twins were 3/5 of the janoskians (jai & luke brooks, beau brooks, daniel sahyounie, & james yammouni), an australian youtube comedy group that was active from 2011-2018 though i was only around from 2012-2014 (when jai brooks was dating ariana grande)

jc caylen → surprise! another youtuber! jc caylen was part of o2l (our2ndlife) a youtube collaboration channel on which each of the 6 members posted videos on a certain day in the week (mondays with connor, tuesdays with ricky, wednesdays with sam, thursdays with jc, fridays with trevi (my 2nd favorite member bc she participated on the x factor), saturdays with ricardo, and then they had surprise sundays every week) and i remember how much joy jc & the others always brought me with their silly videos

misha collins → up next, you might know him as the gay angel that was sent to superhell after confessing his love to the homophobic hunter on supernatural, it’s misha collins! basically misha was a huge source of comfort for me, and i even went around calling myself emmisha for almost two full years (cringe)

henrik holm → he played even bech naesheim in skam and my crush on him reached that level of ridiculousness where i actually tried my hand at learning norwegian (i can only remember how to introduce myself and some curse words i would make a great first impression on him)

MEN 2016 – 2021

min yoongi → okay so my baby steps into kpop happened through shinee’s sherlock, but i only got really invested when yoongi dropped agust d 1 because Holy Fuck y’know??

kim namjoon → oh man i remember thinking namjoon was cute and a very good leader and then BAM he dressed like THAT at the 2016 mma’s and i fell in love. hard

park seojoon → i started liking park seojoon whilst i was watching hwarang (you guessed it, i watched it bc of taehyung), although he wasn’t my favorite character by far, but he was very silly off camera & i liked that (i’m not that into him anymore tho </3)

kim seokjin → OH BOY LET ME TELL U i liked seokjin from the very beginning (i got to know bts in late 2014) and i always liked seeing him perform and be himself and god once i realized i had a crush on him it just hit me like a mf truck, and he’s still one of my favorite people to this day

jung hoseok → god fake love era hoseok really hits different.... also yes i know i have all of bts’ hyung line on my list BUT bts was a really big part of my life for almost 6 years soooo honestly they deserve it i still think they’re great guys

choi san → when ateez made their debut in 2018 i immediately fell in love with san, he was such an amazing dancer and he captivated me right from the very beginning, to this day he’s still my bias in ateez uwu

xiao zhan → AND THEN, OCTOBER OF 2019 HAPPENS AND I WATCH CQL AND... i fall in love with xiao zhan, something i’d never expected would happen bc when i watched cql for the first time i wasn’t as invested in the story, but i really really really liked xiao zhan and one thing led to another and now here i am as a xfx

wang yibo → the thing is, i’ve known yibo since eoeo except i didn’t know cql yibo was uniq yibo (bc i’d forgotten his name) and when i looked it up i can tell you my jaw dropped to the floor bc holy shit????? also he is very silly and i love him loads ok

lee minho → ah, the man who has been my skz bias since 2018, not only is minho my bias i also kin him (there’s a lot of aspects of myself that i see in minho and vice versa) and he’s very comforting to me

bang chan → honestly, it was only a matter of time before i’d fall for bang chan, i knew the moment i got into skz again that i’d start biasing him and, well, here i am, double biasing chan & minho

WOMEN

this list is shorter bc i’ve in general always had less crushes on women than on men??? blame society forcing me into thinking i was straight for a LONG time

ariana grande → remember the 2011 layout of twitter?? where u could not only have an icon and a header, but also a background and ur twitter page was smack in the center of ur screen with the big ugly menu bar at the top??? yeah ariana grande was always my background for my l*rr* st*l*n*s*n layouts

perrie edwards → this was right around the time she was dating zayn & little mix was breaking out into the spotlight, yeah i just really loved her

andrea russett → okay so remember o2l?? andrea russett was kian’s girlfriend for a pretty long time and they always did videos together and i always thought she was super pretty

lily collins → maybe i don’t like clary in tmi all that much but i sure liked the way lily collins looked

alona tal → MY BISEXUAL AWAKENING, it’s only when i saw alona tal in spn that i realized, fuck i might be gay

park jihyo → i discovered twice (my 2nd jype group after day6) through the like ooh-ahh mv and red-haired jihyo really did something to my heart (i just rewatched it and god zombie bang chan is so mf cute)

kim jisoo → when bp made their square two comeback i was immediately smitten for red-haired jisoo in playing with fire, it’s also when i realized she was my bias out of the four members

shin ryujin → the reason that i have blue hair is partially bc of ryujin and her amazing intro in wannabe :D

xuan lu → her portrayal of jiang yanli was SO ON POINT and she’s just such a kindhearted wonderful person wow i want her hand in marriage

lee yoobin → god i’ve known dreamcatcher from back when they were still called minx and ever since i’ve always looked at dami that bit more than the rest, i was also able to see dreamcatcher live in october of 2019 and the whole experience was just so amazing !!

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

there’s a whole lot more than just these 10 but i wanted to fit the evolution into one (1) slide as best as i could lmao

peter pan → this movie came out in 2003 (?) and he’s honestly the first fictional character i remember ever having a crush on

legolas → i was really doubting between placing haldir or legolas here but i only really got a vague haldir obsession when i was like 14

zuko → LOOK. ZUKO IN ATLA? HOT. ZUKO IN LOK? HOT EVEN IF HE’S AN OLD MAN.

will turner → man was annoying sometimes but i really liked him and his relationship with elizabeth was cute

jo harvelle → gosh i can’t believe she’s the only female character in here???? yeah she was one of my two spn faves and i’ll never forgive the screenwriters for the way they killed her off

castiel → does your fave ever get sent to super hell for being gay? no? well. mine did

kili → fili and kili’s storyline tore my heart out, spit on it, and then laughed straight in my face, KILI WAS LITERALLY MY FAVORITE DWARF

howl → i only watched this movie for the first time in 2020 so i kinda fucked up the tl cause i watched cql in 2019 but shh, anyways howl with his blonde hair was good looking but howl with his black hair just hits differently. i want a howl

lan jingyi → MY BABY BOY, TINIE LITTLE BABIE WHOMST I MUST PROTECT ok no but seriously this kid. i love him a lot

mu qing → BARK BARK. that’s all (that’s not all i love him a whole lot and it hurts me to see so many people misunderstand his character and only see the bad parts of him when they can forgive others for fucking up (eg. xie lian himself & feng xin) but bc mu qing doesn’t deal well with emotions suddenly he’s the bad guy??? i s2g if ppl are gonna do to him what they did to jiang cheng in the tgcf la i will RIOT)

[thatvirdiguy]

EVENT BATTLE 2017: DC’s DARK NIGHTS: METAL vs MARVEL’s SECRET EMPIRE

I know I said that this would be an annual thing, and I’ll try to keep this on schedule, and I’ll try to post these on time, and I know I’m posting the one for 2017 as 2018 comes to an end… but writing this took a backseat as I had to finish some projects and write a thesis. C'est la vie, as the French say.

Welcome to EVENT BATTLE 2017, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for sticking around.

Last time we had what I called a Triple Threat Match: DC vs Marvel vs Valiant. While I was hoping this would be a trend going forward, Valiant Comics took a break from publishing big summer crossover events this year. They’ll be back for the 2018 edition of Event Battle, though. (Side note: I absolutely adore Valiant’s quality over quantity strategy, and I hope it continues despite the recent setbacks.)

So, back to the heavyweights, then?

2017 saw DC Comics handing over their universe to the most successful team off their New 52 experiment, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo (of the Batman fame), in the form of METAL, or Dark Nights: Metal. While Metal is indeed a continuation of Snyder and Capullo’s run on Batman, it does build itself up on the shoulders of giants. Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer’s “Dark Knight, Dark City” being one, Grant Morrison’s seminal run on Batman, Final Crisis, his The Multiversity stuff, and pretty much the entirety of his DC output is some of the few important stories from the past that the creators wove into theirs. However, although Metal leans on and borrows from a lot of stories (like most modern superhero stories do), it does not make them a required reading. You will easily find your way if you have never read “Dark Knight, Dark City” (you should, though) and don’t know who or what Barbathos is. Metal is that accessible to new readers. If you are a long-time reader and know your comics, however, it is oddly satisfying when you catch a reference.

Like I mentioned earlier, Metal brings back Barbathos, the bat daemon occultists in 1776 (including the third President of the United States of America!) tried summoning with their “Ceremony of the Bat”. Bruce Wayne, because of his connection to both the Wayne family and, well, I guess, bats in general, is revealed to be the host for Barbathos’ return. To act as the portal/host for the daemon, Wayne needs to be exposed to five divine metals. It is revealed later that Batman already has been exposed to most of them in previous storylines (Electrum in “Court of Owls”, Dionesium in “Endgame”, Promethium in “Superheavy”, Nth Metal in the prologue of the event with Dark Nights: Casting and Dark Nights: Forge , and finally, Batmanium during the course of this story). The daemon, of course, has evil intentions. It is bringing with itself the “dark multiverse”. It literally wants to sink the Earth and flip the scales.

Oh, and also, it is bringing with itself the twisted versions of Batman… who kinda do look awfully similar to Dark Judges from Judge Dredd?

As you can imagine, much of the story then follows Batman and the Justice League’s attempt at stopping Barbathos and his horde of mercenaries. Metal is filled to the brim with ridiculously absurd and deliciously fun moments throughout. While I did stick with my rule of not reading the tie-ins for events, I did read those that Snyder co-wrote, and they work quite well with the main story. They offer details to the story as you would expect from a tie-in but if you do choose to follow the main book only, you would be good.

While bigger, louder, more ridiculous seems to Snyder’s modus operandi for every story after “Zero Year”, it just kinda works here. Rarely does the story pauses and the characters get a chance to breathe. Even the dialogues are written in such a way that they service the plot forward and not add any depth to the characters themselves. While this does seem to continue on his Justice League run, what I do appreciate here is how he managed to adapt and extend previous stories and add more layers to the cosmic side of the DC Universe, which I have always felt falls a bit short when compared to Marvel. Apart from Darkseid and the New Gods, there’s not much else to it, is there? (Cue fans telling me off in 3… 2… 1…)

Greg Capullo draws every issue of Metal, front to back. This in itself is unheard of for modern superhero crossover events, but that’s not all. The man knocks it out of the park throughout. From huge action splash pages to an eight panel page of a tightly choreographed fight scene, Capullo works his magic throughout. Joining him on the tie-ins are John Romita Jr., Andy Kubert, Jim Lee, Doug Mahnke, Yanick Paquette, Jorge Jiménez, Riley Rossmo, Howard Porter, Bryan Hitch, Mikel Janín, and a host of talented inkers and colourists. While on some scenes in the tie-ins, the transitions between the artists is not subtle and it feels a bit off, the books are a sight to behold. If Jorge Jiménez’s work on Superman, Super-Sons, etc. didn’t inform you, the guy is a superstar.

Marvel, on the other hand, had a rough year. I’m talking about the comic book side of the business, of course. They seem to be doing just fine everywhere else.

SECRET EMPIRE is the continuation of Nick Spencer’s Captain America run, specifically his ‘Hydra Cap’ storyline. You know, the one that caused so much outrage. I wasn’t following his run then, but reading this event now, I learnt that (spoiler alert:) that man is that controversial panel actually is Steve Rogers. While the story very firmly establishes that it is not an LMD, not a clone, not a shape-shifter, etc., that man is still not our Captain America. Something is a bit off – specifically, Rogers gets his history rewritten by a sentient cosmic cube – and this leads to an interesting “What If?” storyline, almost.

Yes, Captain America is a Hydra agent. The bad guys have won. America is under Nazi rule (Which, is not that different from the current state of things, is it?). Spencer’s plays with this idea throughout the story, drawing parallels between the two. For example, the persecution of the Inhumans in the make-believe world is drawn from the persecution of the Jews in the real, and so on. While the story is not that epic in scale as Metal perhaps is, it does work as a summer blockbuster crossover event story regardless. Spencer also smartly limits the active cast. New York is put under a blackout, so half the Marvel superheroes are off the table and a shield around Earth has locked out heavy-hitters like Captain Marvel and such. This makes it easier to follow the action. Not that I doubt Spencer’s ability to write a large cast (he does exactly that so expertly here) or that I doubt the reader’s ability to read a book with a large cast. A smaller cast works here, because unlike Metal, for example, this is not a story about the heroes trying to stop the bad guys from winning. They have won already. It is up to a handful of rebels to overthrow the regime Reich.

The first and the last issue of the story is drawn by Steve McNiven, and rest of the work is divided among Rod Reis, Daniel Acuña, Andrea Sorrentino, Joshua Cassara, Leinil Francis Yu, Sean Izaakse, Joe Bennett, Ron Lim, Paco Medina, …holy shit that’s a lot of artists. To their credit though, the editorial team does manage to avoid any art inconsistencies. The story follows the one artist per issue rule to the dot, or a specific artist(s) sticks with a particular plotline. Steve McNiven hyper-detailed art sets up the mood perfectly in the beginning and that exposition is perfect for the end. Andrea Sorrentino, I think, handles a major portion of the book. His panel structure and innovative use of the borders and the gutters is fantastic.

THE VERDICT

To be honest, this was the hardest it has been in quite some time to pick one of the two. Usually, I like one book over the other a lot. Infinity over Forever Evil, Original Sin over Futures End, Secret Wars over Convergence, Rebirth over Civil War II and 4001 A.D. This year, I thought both worked quite well in their own regard. Neither of them is perfect by any means. There are some gaping holes in the plot of both stories. Dream appearing in Metal to add a convenient layer of exposition to an ‘oh my god, how are they ever going to do it?’ plot, The Punisher and Thor kinda turning Nazis with little to no conviction in Secret Empire, and so on. Nonetheless, I had a good time reading them, and that’s all that matters on some days.

While both Metal and Secret Empire had some lasting impact in their respective universe, most of what was caused by Secret Empire has been hushed over. This is partially, I think, because of all the (unnecessary) outrage it caused. Metal, on the other hand, boosted sales, launched new series, spun new tales. I had so much fun reading that book. And oh, how could I ever forget baby Darkseid doing the devil’s horns?

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East Los High finale: Are You Not Entertained?

It seems like a lot of East Los High fans are disappointed with the series finale. Some say it ends on a cliffhanger. Some say it’s sloppy and all over the place in regard to plot. Let’s not pretend that East Los High was ever more than a PSA masquerading as a high school based soap opera. It always had an element of messiness, packing numerous messages in each episode, and giving some entertaining dance scenes along the way. No, the finale wasn’t perfect, but the only thing people should be disappointed about is that the finale gave us a glimpse of what could have been.

As an African American male, East Los High gave me an inside look at latino culture. The show was the first tv series with an all latino cast that I really dug into. (Well, maybe after The George Lopez show.) The teen drama and occasional dance sequences offered something interesting as far as entertainment. Yet, truth be told, the subliminal PSAs helped me respect what was going on with the show from a critical perspective. East Lost High did its best to present scenarios that high school students face, while showing both positive and negative outcomes in a real way. 

East Los knocked out tons of issues in its 4 season plus one run! Domestic abuse, sexual health, immigration, incest, LGBT issues, dance competitions, teenage parenting and so much more got tackled on the show. That’s what I loved about it! It could speak on so many topics through characters that you could relate to or grew to understand.  

Overall, the writers of the finale did their best to close out the character stories in a way that was true to their established storylines. Should Camilla have died? I think so. However, she represents the person who has been through major trauma as a child and adult, yet kept fighting. Should Ceci never have hooked up with Prince Royce and stayed with Jacob? YES (we know what that was about, aka cross-promo money grab). But Ceci went from being an underling to being a boss literally on equal footing with Vanessa. There are plenty of missteps, but the reason we’re mad at the finale’s shortcomings is because we were invested in the characters. That should say something.

Here are some of the characters I grew to love:

Gina: Gina is the girl you take home to mom. Ride or die from the beginning, Gina only grew in her greatness as the seasons moved forward. She was probably the most level-headed and likeable character. She didn’t stay mixed up in beef and wasn’t looking for trouble. She knew what and who to fight for and when to fight for it. Plus, Alexandra Rodriguez could do a lil’ something something on the dance floor! Can’t beat that.

Eddie: Eddie was my eyes into the plight of the undocumented in America. He was the kind-hearted guy that everyone liked in high school. He was talented but humble and hard working. He just happened to not be an American citizen. His character gave me a better understanding of something I didn’t know much about, or maybe care about before. I’m more empathetic now.

Ceci: Ceci did the most adulting in the series. If someone were to watch the book ends of the series alone, they wouldn’t recognize the person Ceci became as opposed to who she was. Having a child forced her to grow up and be responsible. Being in an abusive relationship forced her to be strong and stand up for herself. Yet, she was able to still make mistakes along the way, and that’s life. Danielle Vega always brought the emotion to the dance sequences. That final black and white wardrobe dance scene is memorable because of her the look on her face alone!

Vanessa De La Cruz: Vanessa is another character who had a nice arch over the series. She went from Queen Bee to living with HIV (something that used to be a death sentence back in the day). Regardless, Vanessa used every bit of her scrappy, must win at all costs attitude to continue to evolve herself. While she didn’t get as much love with screen time post season 1, but I dare you to name a line Tracy Perez didn’t nail. Perez made Vanessa an atmosphere changer on the show, demanding you pay attention to her. I want to know what she’s doing next!

Here are the characters I missed:

Season 1 Mya: Ya’ll just wrote her out? Strong as she was, ya’ll just weakened her character post season 1 and wrote her out eventually. Come on bro!

Season 4 Jacob: The dude was Ceci’s match. He was looking out for her. Just when his character gets a good arch w/ dealing w/ alcoholism...War for The Planet of The Apes comes through and mucks it up. I won’t blame that on the writers, but I missed that dude!

Jocelyn: She started out with so much promise. She put the act in activist. Andrea Sixtos brought a grounded calm to Jocelyn that would have been nice to see more of in the land of East Los High. I’m starting a theory that the Sixtos sisters got written out because they were just too good. I dunno, somebody tell me what happened to Mya and Jocelyn?

Conclusion:

Sometimes a tv series doesn’t find its’ rhythm until a few seasons in. I really feel like East Los High didn’t come into its own until this series finale. Why? The ride was over, so there wasn’t a subliminal push to promote sex education, immigration, domestic abuse, etc. The writers wrote to the strengths of the characters they had and tried to round out everyone’s story to the best of their ability. The issue is, the simplicity in this feature film was what East Los High should have been all along and I wish we could see more of the world they put before us in the finale.

As the lowrider pulls off into the sunset in the final scene, so did the possibilities. I’ll have to find a new guilty pleasure to watch. Hopefully, Hulu will continue to give us some diversity in what it has to offer in viewing, but we’ll always have Skonkas, the Bomb Squad, and the fight that people of color constantly live but don’t get to see lived out on the big or small screen as much as we should. Thanks for the good times East Los! May your legacy inspire some kid who was watching to tell their story!

Let me know your thoughts, favorite characters, and what you loved about East Lost High below!

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Major Crimes Re-Watch-Citizen’s Arrest

The case- I’m going to lead off with the case because I know they get pretty short changed in all my synopsis. To be truthful the case is quite often just background noise to me, it is the character interactions I love. In this episode though, I was thoroughly engaged in the case right from the moment Sharon, Andy and Provenza walked into the Barlow home and realized they weren’t just doing a notification, that they had walked into a kidnapping and there was another child out there potentially still alive. The case was suspenseful and exciting. The shoot out at the trailer had me holding my breath--and then an emotional ending with the rescue of poor Emily. This is the kind of case I personally find far more riveting, rather than all the grilling in the interview rooms which most of the time I find rather boring.

This is also the episode that starts us out on the sad path of Sharon not being present at crime scenes the way Brenda was. But, though she is not at the crime scene Sharon is already developing a closer more familial relationship with her team than Brenda had. She often refers to them by their first names rather than their rank or their last names. Sharon is clearly interested in them as people, what makes them tick, what are their strengths and weaknesses and how can she make them work for the team, rather than simply as people who work for her and have to do what she asks of them.

His poor mother, I cannot imagine- I always love it when Sharon or any of the team gets to empathize with the victim or their family. We see it in Andy with the young girl in the Closer and later with Alice Herrera, you know he is seeing Nicole in those young girls and treats them as he would his own daughter. In this case, it is Sharon who is seeing a young man Ricky’s age knowing what an awful blow this is going to be to his mother because she can’t even imagine herself hearing that Ricky had been killed. Seeing the boy’s fraternity tattoo hits home even harder.

“You know a lot about fraternities” “My son was in one.” First off, I had to chuckle. I didn’t catch this the first time around but the way Andy says this is somewhat suggestive, as if he is wondering if young Sharon spent a lot of time with frat boys at frat houses when she was in college. Then she mentions her son and he kind of shrugs like, that makes more sense.  

This quick little tidbit also gives us a little more information on the elusive Raydor children. Ricky was in a fraternity, which having met him now, I can totally see. And now we also know why Sharon reacted so strongly in the morgue.

“No more dead guys”- Amy strikes again with open mouth insert foot syndrome. What I find interesting is that no one has taken her to task, or at least explained to her that she needs to be more circumspect in blurting things out around strangers.

“Gentlemen, with me please.” While Barlow ignores Sharon--Sharon shows him exactly who the boss is and Andy and Provenza immediately snap to attention and follow her out of the house.  It’s hard to believe Sharon is new at this, she has great instincts and is quick on her feet, giving Mrs. Barlow the phone knowing it is the mother who will be willing to lean on the police for help.

“The Captain’s got it right.” Provenza has snapped out of his sulking and is not only accepting that Sharon is his boss, but accepting his position on the team and is now willing to follow her and agree with her when he believes she is right. This time it is Andy who has a different position and he is completely comfortable expressing his dissent. Sharon is the kind of leader who likes to hear all sides of an argument then make the best decision based on her own instincts and the feedback of her team. It is also important to note that when Sharon and Provenza do not agree with him, Andy does not get angry, gripe or go off sulking, he accepts the decision and gets back to work doing what Sharon asks of him. Yes, Andy is Sharon’s right hand man but he is not going to simply be a “yes man”. He is going to say what he thinks, which Sharon needs, but is also going to be accepting of decisions that don’t go his way.

But, I also want to know what happened to Provenza’s belief that it is always the family member--- the husband, the wife, the father, the boyfriend…that did it. It seems strange that he was so quick to dismiss Mr. Barlow as having killed his son when usually it is the family he always keys in on.

“Thank you, Mrs. Barlow.” Sharon’s instinct proved correct. This woman was willing to risk her husband’s wrath if it meant getting her children back. Sharon knows what a mother will do to protect her children.

“I think this is a good place for Sykes to take the lead.” Wow, not only is Provenza following Sharon’s lead he is also now willing to accept and trust Amy’s expertise. The fact that Sharon is also so open to taking advice from someone who is the most junior member of the team shows that she is a strong leader willing to promote and utilize all the talents and expertise of her team.

“Emily”-Interesting that in the same episode we have Sharon seeing “Ricky’ in a young male victim we find out that his sister’s name is Emily--which we eventually find out is Sharon’s daughter’s name.

“Captain Raydor, DDA Hobbs” Sharon and Andrea are more formal here than they are later when they refer to each other by their first names. This leads me to believe that they only really became friendly once Sharon began working with Major Crimes.

Rusty’s DNA- Having Rusty’s father potentially coming back into Rusty’s life is a great curveball. Not only does it threaten Sharon’s relationship with Rusty for the viewers, but also when the relationship is threatened it will force Sharon and Rusty to realize just how much they have come to mean to each other. This might not have happened as quickly had Daniel Dunn not been found.

“Sharon, what if I got my license.” Rusty sure makes himself at home, bursting into Sharon’s office without a knock while she is in the middle of a meeting with Andrea. What if she had been meeting with grieving parents or the Chief? Yes teens are often oblivious but Sharon has been trying so hard to teach Rusty about respect and boundaries, it is surprising to me that she just lets this rude behavior go and doesn’t call him on it.

“Who are you?” Rusty’s rudeness continues when he walks in to find a stranger in the place where he usually does his homework--evidently not remembering that it is a police station NOT his bedroom. This episode really shows Rusty at his most obnoxious and that Sharon still has a lot of work ahead of her.

Mrs. Hall- Okay, this woman is clearly aware of the danger and violence in her husband and her father in law and yet when Gerald hands her $20,000 cash she isn’t suspicious at all of where he got that money? Then, just because he gave her money she is willing to let her children go off with this man who is violent, heavily armed and has a crazy father, not to mention the fact that these men are constantly moving around to evade the law. She doesn’t worry about what they have been up to come up with 20,000 cash or that they might disappear with her kids? Clearly NOT a bright woman.

The gun store- I could hop on my soapbox and go on for pages about the ridiculously weak gun laws in this country. However, all I will say is how horrifying it was to hear the list of weapons these guys were buying and how anyone can arm themselves with dozens and dozens of assault rifles and ammo without drawing any red flags. Julio and Amy were absolutely right to be disgusted.

Action Amy and Julio- As @milquetoast-on-acid said in her post on this episode, Andy’s role seems to be changing a bit. It used to be Julio and Andy kicking in doors and taking down the perps. Andy was usually the first guy in. Now Julio and Amy are taking on that role and Andy is moving into more of a leadership role than that of an enforcer.

“I won’t lie to you. I promise I’ll tell you everything I know, as soon as I have had a reasonable opportunity to assess the facts.” Sharon will not lie to Rusty but she is telling him quite honestly here that there are things she may hold back from him until she is sure of what is going on, or what the ramifications might be. It is important that this has been established right here from the start because I think this may be an issue with the upcoming Stroh storyline--with Sharon withholding the fact that he just may be back in the country.

Touch- I love the little moment when Sharon’s natural instinct is to rest a comforting hand on Rusty’s shoulder, but stops herself remembering that Rusty is still a skittish kid, unused to physical affection. She doesn’t want to push him or make him uncomfortable. Sharon is all about the slow build of a relationship, of letting it grow organically as we will later see with Andy. It also shows how tactile Sharon is. She may be a private person and is probably not hugely into PDA’s, but she is big on touch. Whether it is cupping Rusty’s face, playing with Andy’s tie, stroking his empty chair, threading her fingers through his to hold his hand, resting her head on his shoulder or giving a pat on the arm, she is all about the human connection of touch.