#wait now that i look at these ages Bart is probably 50

[braindeadmaggot]

Oh, you want some Fuck, Snog, Marry, Avoid, Kill too? Here you go (Heart Pirates edition): Law, Bepo, Penguin, Shachi, Jean Bart.

You go straight for the throat doncha? Well Nony, you wanted to play.

Let's play.

Kill - Shachi. He looks like the kind of guy that says he eats pussy but never actually does and then complains when you ask him to. Plus he's like the weakest of the Heart Combat Trio, just an overall disappointment. Not to mention how much he disrespects women, the perv.

Avoid - Bepo. He's too precious to kill but too cute to fuck so it's better just to forget he exists at all.

Snog - Penguin. He's similar to Shachi in his perverted assholery but I'd rather suck face with him than with orca boi. Both of their hats are a huge turn off and while Shachi gets extra points for the tattoos, Penguin is still the better catch.

Marry - Law. He ticks all the boxes; tattoos, piercings, great dark hair, smooth voice, bad manners, cynical, sarcastic, deathly stare, tsundere, over everyone's shit, would rather not - like ever. He's me if I weren't a Gemini. He's the me I try to be but fail to be because I'm too much of a mushroom goblin.

Fuck - Jean Bart. He seems like he'd be super gentle but at the same rough in All. The. Right. Ways. and he'd be pretty half decent about after care. After sex cuddles would feel AMAZING with him and i just want to run my fingers through him hair. Plus he's hella cute, I mean look at him.

[lale-txt]

Dear Lale! With Law's upcoming birthday (Oct 6th) I was wondering how he was celebrating his birthday (if he does?) - what do u think? Can we get a little headcanon??

oh myyy, of course you can my sweet child!! just thinking about Law wearing a sparkly party hat and hating every second of it makes me giggle. here's how i imagine it going down:

for Law, his birthday is like any other day of the year and he'd rather forget about it. are you and the rest of the crew up for this? no way.

so you're planning a surprise party for him, huh? this is the one day of the year you can show him how grateful all of you are for him.

good for you that this man rarely leaves the library or infirmary, depending whatever he's working on at the moment. no need to come up with a tricky diversion to keep him away from the common room

does he like surprises? not really, and ever since his alliance with the Strawhats even less (poor boy aged like 50 years any time one of them didn't stick to his plans)

does he like sweet food? also not really, but there's no birthday without a birthday cake and you insist on baking it yourself (it will turn out surprisingly good and Law will eat up the whole thing, pretending he's just doing it to avoid food waste but secretly enjoying every sweet bite of it, knowing it was made with love)

Penguin and Shachi are on present wrapping duty and will really outdo themselves, in the end even half of the interior will be wrapped in fancy paper and oppulent ribbons

being the tallest of the crew, Bepo and Jean Bart are in charge of party decorations such as garlands, confetti and balloons. Bepo will yell at everyone who doesn't stick to his color scheme

there's even a piñata that will get destroyed with one hit by Law later, causing minor injuries because candy will splatter everywhere

after everyone received first aid ("making me work on my birthday, tsk") the party goes on and on

when no one's looking Law's face will go from his usual 😐 to a slight smile, grateful for the work everyone put into this

you're able to catch that rare smile on camera and oh, you will carry this photo with you everywhere from now on, together with his vivre card

there will also be a group selfie that will turn out a bit blurry since everyone had a little bit too much fruit punch. the photo will be framed on your captain's desk a few days after.

"this was your idea, wasn't it?", he will whisper over the music in your ear when everyone was dancing wildly to your fire playlist and for a second you're not sure if his question was meant as a threat or a thanks (probably a bit of both)

before you can give a proper answer, the two of you will be pulled to the dancefloor by Shachi and Penguin

Law will not be dancing but awkwardly stand in the middle of all of you, cheering to him and enjoying yourselves, making him feel like the greatest (that he is)

him, the heart.

you're able to release the poor man from the claws of the party hungry crew that was now eager to start a dance battle ("please don't, the infirmary is closed for today")

"trying to steal me away from my own party, huh?" this man sure is getting a little cocky now for someone who has been an absolute grumpy cat the whole evening but well, he is right

he was also grinning now, a rare sight that makes you feel as if you were punched in the guts by the gods of love

there was a sweet present you wanted to give him in private, but this could probably wait an hour or two more, now that the captain was finally loosen up and even willing to join the limbo battle that had just started on the dancefloor (which he will win, this man is bendy)

happy, happy birthday, Law!

[kiragecko]

DC Sidekick Age References

Here’s a dump of all the references I’ve found. Know I’m missing a lot, and quite a few were found on other sites that didn’t give me the most precise info.

If you know of anything else, can correct a mistake you see, or want to discuss comic book aging - please send me an ask, message, or reblog!

?? - means I don’t know where the info is from, “quotes” are direct copies of the wording in the comic

-

?? Parents died when Bruce was 8

Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) – Batman introduced

Detective Comics #38 (Apr 1940)  – Dick is (8 when parents killed/9 when Robin) 12 when he becomes Robin, it's Bruce's 3rd year as Batman

More Fun Comics 73 (Nov 1941) – Green Arrow Introduced

1962 - JLA formed

1964 – Dick teams up with Wally and Garth

Teen Titans 1 (Jan-Feb 1966) – Teen Titans form, Donna is introduced (all 5 are 14ish?)

Detective 359 (Jan 1967) – Babs introduced, has PhD, has graduated

Batman #217 (Dec 1969) – Dick graduates high school, enrolls in University (starts 3 months later)

1971 - Roy discovered using drugs by Ollie and Hal in a drug den (he was trading arrows for drugs), retcon has Wally and Dick discovering him at tower and making him promise to get help

Justice League 116 (Mar-Apr 1975) Charley Parker is 16

Batman Family 10 (Mar-Apr 1977) – Dick is teenager, Babs is 25

Teen Titans 53 (Feb 1978) – Dick, Wally, Donna, Vic all started college at same time

DC Special Series: The Flash Spectacular (May 1978) – Wally graduates high school

New Teen Titans 1 (Nov 1980) – Raven forms New Titans, Gar is 16 during run

New Teen Titans 2 (Dec 1980) – Slade meets team, Grant dies

1981 - Dick drops out of university after 1 semester, he never really was interested

New Teen Titans 20 (June 1982) – Vic turns 19, Donna already is

Tales of the New Teen Titans 2 (July 1982) – Raven turned 18 just before forming Titans

Batman #357 (Mar 1983) – Jason’s first appearance

Detective Comics #526 (May 1983) – Bruce adopts Jason, Dick is there and approving

New Teen Titans 34 (Aug 1983) – Terra turns 16

Batman #368 (Feb 1984) – Dick gives Jason the Robin costume, Jason becomes Robin

Blue Devil(84) – Eddie is 11/12

Tales of the Teen Titans (May 1984) – Joey introduced, Author describes him as 17?

New Teen Titans #39 (Feb 1984) – Dick stops being Robin, Wally quits being a superhero/the team

Tales of the Teen Titans 50 (Feb 1985) – Terry and Donna's wedding (she got married while 19)

New Teen Titans 10 (July 1985) – Kole says she's at least 18

Crisis on Infinite Earths 7 (Oct 1985) – Supergirl dies in Superman’s arms after mostly destroying the Anti-Monitor, who has to flee reality

New Teen Titans 18 (Mar 1986) – Dick turns 20 (“Dick Grayson celebrates his birthday away from home with a traditional Tamaranean feast.” (While sulking because Kory got space-married))

New Teen Titans 20 (May 1986) – Roy locates baby Lian, Terry Long is 29

?? Roy is 22(when he gets Lian)

Batman #404 - Batman Year One (Feb 1987) – Bruce is 25, spent 12 years training, became Batman at 26, Barbara Gordon is pregnant, her and Jim move to Gotham

Detective Comics #571 (Feb 1987) – we see Bruce’s fear gas induced vision of Jason’s tombstone (birth: 1974 – death: 1986, so he’d be 12)

Secret Origins 13 (April 87) – 15 years ago, it was Dick’s 5th birthday. Soon after tenth birthday, parents are killed. [Set during New TT 18])

Batman #409 (July 1987) – Jason becomes Robin (In Detective Comics, Jason has been Robin the whole time, but is still being wwritten with Pre-Crisis personality)

Flash 1 (June 1987) – Wally turns 20

New Teen Titans Ann 3 (Nov 1987) – Danny Chase is 13 and introduced

Batman #416 (Feb 1988) – Dick in Gotham, meets the new Robin on patrol. Confronts Bruce later, says he was ‘fired’ less than a year ago (since then he was briefly in college), makes Bruce admit he missed him. Dick finds Jason again, expose the drug dealers, and Dick gives Jason his old costume (symbolically, since Jason already has one) and a phone number, Dick was Robin for 6 years

Batman #427 (Winter 1988) – Jason dies

Batman #436, Batman: Year Three (Aug 1989) – 2 years since Dick stopped being Bruce’s sidekick (When he became Nightwing? Or when he quit?), parents died 10 years earlier

Batman #441, A Lonely Place of Dying (Nov 1989) – Tim 13, was 7 when Dick’s parents died

Robin #1 (Jan 1991) – Tim debuts as Robin

New Titans 84 (March 1992) – Joey dies

Deathstroke, the Terminator #15 (Oct 1992) – Rose introduced

Team Titans 3 (Nov 1992) – Robert Long is born

Adventures of Superman 500 (June 1993) – Kon appears and escapes from Cadmus with Newboy Legion, John Henry Irons first appearance, Eradicator and Cyborg Superman also appear for first time

Batman: BTAS: Robin’s Reckoning (1993) - 'Richard 'Dick' Grayson: Age 10'

Detective Comics 668 (Nov 1993) – Tim gets license (because dad is disabled) even though he hasn’t turned 16 yet, gets beat up by Jean-Paul

Flash 92 (July 1994) – Bart aged to 14

?? Shortly after Knight’s End – Tim is 15 and in the 10th grade

Flash 0 (Oct 1994) – Wally is 23

Damage 1(94) – Grant is 16

Deathstroke, The Terminator Annual 4 (Aug 1995) – Rose is 14, “What would that do to a kid? A fourteen-year-old girl whose father is an assassin she’s never met?”

Wonder Woman 105(95) – Cassie is 14

Tempest 1(96) – Garth spends many months in other dimension

Aquaman 20 (May 1996) – Garth aged 3-4 years in other dimension, now older than other Titans

Teen Titans 1 (Oct 1996) – Argent, Risk, Joto, Prysm all turn 16(they were conceived by seed things on same day)

Superboy Annual 2 – to Kon: “Happy birthday, Kid - - number one in a long successful series, we hope.” “He will effectively remain sixteen years old - - forever!”

Green Lantern 82(97) – Robert Long is 3

Wonder Woman 121(97) – Terry and Robert die

Secret Origins Giant 1(98) – Bart is “Three. Fifteen. Depends.”, “you’re almost 15, Tim.”

Titans 5(99) – Donna is 23

Titans(99) – Lian is 4

Sins of Youth(99) – Kon 16, aging normally again

Aquaman 63 (Jan 2000) – Future Garth tells granddaughter Donna about Cerdian being born (think this is his weird birth issue)

Wonder Woman Secret Files (2002) – „Wonder Girl is a precocious outgoing 15-year-old named Cassandra „Cassie“ Sandsmark.“

Bruce Wayne: Murderer (2002) – Oracle says Tim is 15

Batgirl #37 (April 2003) – “Cain said ... today was ... my birthday.”

Batgirl #39 (June 2003) – “I see an eighteen-year-old girl, who’s out of her depth.” (Babs about Cass)

Robin #116 (Sept 2003) – Dana: “Oh, I’m so glad we’ll all be together on Thursday ... !” Tim: “Why? What’s Thursday?” Jack: “Yeah. What’s Thursday?” Dana: “Wait a minute – seriously? Tim: “Yeah. Tell. Us.” Dana: “It’s nothing – never mind. Just leave your schedules open for a nice family dinner.”| Jack: “Dana, what’s – “ Dana: “Shh! Thursday ...  the 19th of July ... ?” Jack: “Um ... oh! Right!” | Steph: “So – Thursday!! Are you excited? Got any ideas for it, yet? ... Tim ... ?” [Tim is asleep.] | [Ives and Steph come over, with pizza that says “Happy B-Day Tim.”] Ives: “Sixteen spankings – get that boy up!!” | Dana says: “I remember when I was in 11th grade.” | he also gets the first ‘clue’ for Bruce’s ‘birthday present.’

Teen Titans 1 (Nov 2003) – Gar is 19, Is this Joey’s return?? (He’s puppeting Slade)

Teen Titans ½ (2004) – Rose’s early years, with a ‘6 years ago’ flashback, she was raised in a brothel her mom ran, tutored, never allowed the outside world, but had relationships with kids her age

Detective Comics #790 (Mar 2004) – Jason’s 18th birthday “he would have been 18 today”

Teen Titans 8 (April 2004) – Raven looks 'barely older' than Cassie

TEEN TITANS #1/2 [2004]: The flashback panels totally sync up with my age theories; Flash to 10 years ago: Dick Grayson’s parents die. Flash to 6 years ago: Rose Wilson is schooled at home by her mother, Lili. Flash to 5 years ago: Ravager I is killed. Flash to 3 years ago: Slade is forced to kill Jericho. Flash to 2 years ago: Cadmus attempts to clone Superman. Flash to 18 months ago: Rose deals with the death of her mother. Flash to one week ago: Bart Allen is shot by Slade.

Identity Crisis 4 (Dec 2004) –(Tim still 16)

Green Arrow 47(05) – Mia is 17

Return of Donna Troy 3(05) – Cassie barely 16

Nightwing: Year One(05) – Dick is 26

Batgirl #65 (Aug 2005) – Cass decides to figure out if Shiva is her mom, Jason and Cass roughly the same age

Flash(05/06) – Wally is 26

?? Robin #136 – Tim still 16 ???

Detective Comics #868 (Oct 2010)– Kate is 32 years old??

One Year Later(Mar 06)

Flash 1(06) – Bart 4 years older(20?)

Blue Beetle 2 (June 2006) – Find out Jaime was in space/a pocket dimension for One Year Later

?? Just prior to 52 (July 2006-July 2007)– told Tim is 17 (long before he’s also  17 in Red Robin, 52 is 1 year long)

Teen Titans 42 (Feb 2007) – Eddie is 17

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds 3-4 (Apr-June 2009) – Bart and Kon back, same as when died

Batman 677 (July 2008) – Batman over 30

Batman: Battle for the Cowl (May-July 2009) – Damian is 10, Ends with Dick and Damian becoming Batman and Robin

Brave & The Bold 2 (May 2007) – Kara is 17, “You have food in the refrigerator older than her, Hal. Who are you, Ollie? No bad thoughts. She’s seventeen.”

Batgirl #1 (Oct 2009) – Steph starting college

Batgirl #7 (Apr 2010) - Damian is "what happens when you work with a 10-year-old."

Red Robin #12 (July 2010) – Tim spent “a few months” looking for evidence before returning to Gotham, becomes emancipated minor

Detective Comics #871 (Jan 2011)– Mention that Dick and Babs went to prom together

Red Robin #25 (Sept 2011) – Tim “and you are only 17”

The Batman Files (Oct 2014) – Jason was 15 at death (seen on death certificate)

?? Rebirth Young Justice series – Cassie: “didn’t mean to end up back in high school feeling - - like I did back when I went to high school.” Later, she says she’s in Metropolis “Working. Going to school in the fall.” So she’s probably starting college.

?? Bart in some Rebirth comic: “Am I six? Am I nineteen? That’s a really freaky thing, right?”

?? At some point: Donna says shes a little older than Kyle

[shannendoherty-fans]

People, September 9th 1991

High School Confidential

By Tom Gliatto and Michael Alexander.

Photos by Mark Sennett.

Beverly Hills, 90210 Gets Its Heat from a Dangerously Cute Cast of TV's Hottest New Stars CONFIDENTIAL MEMO: FROM: The Vice Principal TO: The Faculty, High School U.S.A. I'm sure I don't need to remind you what happened when we didn't prepare for Bart Simpson last fall. The school was flooded with rude, antieducational T-shirts. Some cows were had. Well, as a new school year gets under way, I believe we face another daunting challenge: Brace yourselves for Beverly Hills, 90210. That's the Fox drama about unworldly twin teens Brandon and Brenda Walsh (played by Jason Priestley and Shannen Doherty), recent transferees from Minneapolis to the Hills of Beverly. There they struggle to assimilate into the fast-lane lifestyle of West Beverly Hills High School, where the kids come equipped with BMWs, call waiting and designer surfboards. In the process, the teens examine their emerging identities and the problems that adolescents everywhere face.

The show languished in the Nielsen ratings against Thursday powerhouse Cheers last year. But Fox had no replacement, so it stayed. While we were on summer vacation, new 90210 episodes began airing, and the show landed in the Top 20, becoming the most popular show among teenagers. To some extent, I take responsibility for having ignored 90210. I made the mistake of reading newspaper critics instead of my daughter's diary, and so I believed, as Howard Rosenberg sniffed in the Los Angeles Times, that the show was merely a "ZIP code for stereotypes and stock characters." Little did I know that this show would mesmerize teens by doing emotionally realistic shows that involved adolescent rebellion, alcoholic; parents, a breast-cancer scare and plenty of worrisome teen sex. "Most shows for adolescents," says 90210 creator Darren Star, "seem like they are written by 50-year-olds who think teenagers behave like 7-year-olds."

It also doesn't hurt that the show's male stars, Priestley and Luke Perry (who plays brooding loner Dylan McKay), are "to die for," as my daughter puts it. These two have each been receiving about 1,500 fan letters a week. So be vigilant: Surely some of these will be written by our students...during class! And I'm afraid that 90210 is only going to get bigger with our kids, if producer Aaron Spelling is to be believed. "I thought The Mod Squad and Charlie's Angels got a lot of publicity in their heyday," says Spelling, whose company produced those shows, "but it doesn't compare to this. It's crazy. We have merchandising coming out of our ears"—a complete line of T-shirts, beach towels, notebooks, etc. "And now these actors can't walk down the street!"

Or even streak through malls. You probably saw those alarming news reports about a frenzied mob of 10,000 fans that stampeded Perry when he appeared at a south Florida mall last month. "It's a little scary," says Perry. Scarier is the amount of time students will waste this fall discussing Luke. And Jason. And who is sexier. I provide some information on the two. Jason Priestley, 22, plays Brandon Walsh, a model of thoughtful level-headedness. In real life, however, the brown-haired, blue-eyed star, who started acting in commercials at age 4 and played an orphan on that very nice NBC sitcom Sister Kate, is no Oliver Twist. He likes dirt bikes, bungee jumping and is a chain-smoker (just about the whole cast puffs it up—but not on-camera). Vancouver-born Priestley likes to hang out in Las Vegas. As for his real romantic life, he was reportedly dating actress Robin (Doogie Howser, M.D.) Lively last spring, but it seems likely that now he is too busy for such dalliance;. He must be on the set 14 hours a day, five days a week. To avoid ever-present fans, Priestley says, "I look different from my character when I'm just walking around. I don't shave, I don't dress like Brandon."

On the show, 26-year-old Luke Perry (Brenda Walsh's boyfriend, Dylan) sports a leather jacket, dagger sideburns and a squint that spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e. Although he grew up and graduated from high school in Fredericktown, Ohio, he seems to have attended James Dean wise-guy classes. Perry, who played country-boy Ned Bates on the ABC soap Loving, entertains the 90210 cast by strutting around bare-chested making jokes. Does he have a girlfriend? "No. You know how I can get in touch with Linda Hamilton?" What kind of music does he listen to? "Tom Jones is awesome." Are he and Priestley ever mistaken for each other? "He's mistaken for me on his good days." And 90210, he says, is "the best show on television, except for Jeopardy!" We should act quickly, faculty, when we see any signs that Beverly Hills, 90210 is disrupting normal student activity.

How abnormal might things get? Consider: "It's almost like there are cults," says Brian Austin Green, 18, the North Hollywood High grad who plays the cutely dweeby David Silver. "Girls go to school the day after the show, and they actually become these characters. They say, 'Okay, today I want to be Dylan, you can be Brenda, you can be Brandon.' " Needless to say, students caught pretending to be TV characters should be brought directly to my office for detention. But you know, it might not be a bad thing if our students could show some of the good sense that the 90210ers display in coping with the pressures of fame and fortune. Jennie Garth, 19, who plays the very sexy, very blond, very snotty Kelly Taylor, is particularly admirable. The youngest of seven children, she grew up on a farm near Champaign, Ill., until her schoolteacher parents moved to Phoenix when she was 13. "Living in a small town and coming from a very tight and close family instilled a lot of standards that I need to live up to," says Garth, who just bought a home in Sherman Oaks. She also recently supplied her parents with the down payment for their new home, setting a splendid example for today's youth.

According to a tabloid that someone left in the faculty lounge, Memphis-raised Shannen Doherty, 20, a veteran of such wonderful shows as Little House: A New Beginning, is the only cast member to be accused of behaving like "a spoiled brat" on the set. But she maintains she is no such thing. "I think everybody gets in a bad mood," Shannen says. "You do not work 16-hour days and not start feeling it. But I have never thrown a tantrum. I've gotten upset on the set, but it's never been just to be a bitch. You have to stand up for yourself in this business. That was something I was told when I was 12 years old and working with Michael Landon."

As with about half the cast members, Doherty is in a relationship—in her case, a real-estate developer with whom she's exchanged commitment rings. "You really have to date a while before you decide if this is the person you want to marry," she says with Brenda-like candor. Almost sounds like the relationship could be a future 90210 plot. "The problems of young people have accelerated," says Aaron Spelling, "and so have their feelings and thoughts." The show, he says, has kept pace: Even with their Clearasil-perfect complexions and plump allowances, the students at Beverly Hills have encountered their share of problems. "We had the guts to make Luke Perry be a member of AA," says Spelling. "We had Jason, our star, drinking and driving. That's reality."

And, apparently, the adulatory fan mail often includes a sad dose of that reality. "I got a letter the other day from a girl who mentioned the show we did on parental drug abuse," says Perry in a rare moment of seriousness. "She wrote about catching her father freebasing in the basement. I get letters like that all the time, from people all over the country." Gabrielle Carteris (at age 30, she's 90210's oldest cast-kid), who plays Andrea Zuckerman, the bright student who comes from the wrong side of Rodeo Drive, remembers an encouraging close encounter in a grocery store. "One girl came up to me after we'd done the breast-cancer show," says Carteris. "She said, 'I went home with all my friends and we checked our breasts for lumps.' "

In conclusion: Maybe I didn't need to write this memo. Maybe things won't be that bad, even if every locker in every corridor has a picture of Jason, Luke, Shannen or Jennie in it. Perhaps our dear little school is more like West Beverly Hills High—at least the TV version—than I thought. That's what Ian Ziering, 27, thinks too. "The reality on the show pretty much mirrors the way life is all over, in terms of teenagers," says New Jersey—bred Ziering, who once did Fruit of the Loom underwear ads and now plays 90210's curly-headed jock, Steve Sanders. "There's a mystique about Beverly Hills. But that's not what keeps people tuning in. The show could have been Montana E-I-E-I-O." By the way, should any student pronounce his name "eee-an," correct him or her, please. It's "eye-an."

-- WHEN BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 PREMIERED last October, Highlights, the student newspaper at Beverly Hills High, ran articles mocking the school's TV counterpart, West Beverly Hills High. "They said that the show was a joke," says Jenny Brandt, 14, a sophomore at the 1,900-student school. But as the story lines improved and Jason Priestley and Luke Perry became stars, the jokes stopped, and Brandt found herself, like many of her pals, glued to the set on Thursday nights from 9 to 10 P.M. "No phone calls allowed," says Brandt. "Except during commercials." Hope Levy, a 17-year-old senior, has taken fandom a step further with her friends. "We have little handmade cards," she says, speaking from her mom's car phone. "They say you're a member of Club 90210." While some kids think the show treats them as snobby stereotypes, most agree with sophomore Jordan Rynes when he says, "It's like a soap opera for teens. The shows dealing with drinking and drugs are the most real—adults don't realize how accurate it is."

[bbclesmis]

The Herald: Disappointed by TV version of Les Mis? Here comes the real thing

 On the streets of Paris, revolution is in the air. The people want to take back control from an out of touch government whose leaders are shoring up their own wealth. Barricades look set to be leapt. Such is the way of history repeating itself in France, from the 19th century uprising through to 1968 and even the current, and slightly more ideologically ambiguous wave of street protests by the so-called Gilets Jaunes – the yellow vests. It was seeing photographs of the latter in a French newspaper that struck a chord with Claude-Michel Schonberg.

 “Those pictures looked exactly like the set of Les Miserables,” says the composer of one of the most iconic pieces of musical theatre in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

 “First of all it made me realise that Les Miserables is still relevant. Secondly, it also made me realise that in 200 years we have learnt nothing.”

 Maybe this is why the current year-long UK tour of Les Miserables, originally adapted by Schonberg and writer Alan Boublil from Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, has pretty much sold out already.

 Arriving in Edinburgh this month for the first time in 20 years for a month-long run, the English-language version of Boublil and Schonberg’s show has been a fixture of the London theatre circuit since Trevor Nunn directed a co-production between the Royal Shakespeare Company and Cameron Mackintosh at the Barbican in 1985.

 This makes it the second longest-running musical in the world.

 Despite the success of putting Hugo’s story charting ex-convict Jean Valjean’s travails through poverty-stricken France onstage, Schonberg for one isn’t quite sure of the reasons why it happened.

 “It’s a phenomenon I don’t really understand,” the now 74-year old composer admits of a creation which introduced the world to songs now regarded as modern classics such as I Dreamed A Dream, “but the show is more popular than ever. I must say, I’m totally surprised.”

 By the time Les Miserables opens at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, the new six-part TV adaptation of Hugo’s book scripted by Andrew Davies will be mid-way through its own run. With Dominic West playing Valjean as part of a cast that includes Olivia Coleman and David Oyelowo, rather than claiming kin with Boublil and Schonberg’s take on things, advance publicity appears to pointing up the fact that it is categorically not the musical, and shouldn’t be confused as such. Viewers and critics have already criticised this sans songs version as being flat.

 With Les Mis the musical itself filmed in 2012 with Hugh Jackman as Valjean, this too is something Schonberg doesn’t understand.

 “Whenever I read an article about the BBC version, they are saying it is the real version of the novel and not the trivial musical stage version,” he says.

 “I don’t know how you can promote something against it. People know the title because of the musical show, but each time there’s an adaptation, they all make the point that they are not going to have anyone singing. But who knows? This one might be very good. I will look at it carefully.”

 Schonberg probably doesn’t need to worry too much. As he points out, there has been more than 50 films based on Hugo’s novel, with over 20 TV adaptations as well as another 20 different versions onstage. This is how great stories work as they are reimagined for every age. Indeed, it was another musical adaptation of a nineteenth century novel that was the starting point for Les Miserables.

 “Alain saw Oliver! in London,” says Schonberg, who had previously collaborated with Boublil on La Revolution Francaise, France’s first rock opera, produced in 1973. “I said to Alain, next time we find a big subject, we have it as a sung-through musical, and when Alain saw Oliver!, that gave us an idea about how to do it.”

 Lionel Bart’s musical version of Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist, had already been adapted for film by Carol Reed in 1968 by then, after being first seen on the West End eight years earlier. Prior to putting Les Miserables onstage, as was the fashion then, Boublil and Schonberg released a recording of it as a concept album. This approach had already paid dividends for the English musical theatre team of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber with Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, and Schonberg had already scored hit records in France.

 Three years after the Les Miserables concept album had led to the show’s original French production, it was heard by British producer Cameron Mackintosh after it was passed on to him by director Peter Farago.

 “Two years after the show closed in Paris, Cameron was organising his records and put it on,” Schonberg recalls. “and after that we heard he was looking for those crazy French guys, Schonberg and Boublil”

 While the pair worked on new drafts of Les Miserables, Mackintosh was riding high on the success of Cats, directed by Trevor Nunn, who had also overseen David Edgar’s epic staging of Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby, and knew how to put on a big show. Success was far from guaranteed, however, and the opening night of Les Mis was a critical disaster.

 “The critics were very bad,’ says Schonberg, actually using the v word eight times. “Cameron has a tradition of having a lunch the day after an opening night, and it was like a funeral. We thought it was finished, and during the lunch Cameron kept trying to call the box office to measure the scale of the disaster, but couldn’t get through. Eventually he received a message to say that the reason he couldn’t get through was that the show had sold 5,000 tickets, and in two weeks would be sold out.”

 Les Miserables went on to win an Olivier Award for the most popular show, while on Broadway it won three Tony awards.

 The current touring version is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell for a production reinvigorated for the show’s 25th anniversary in 2009. The result is a very 21st century Les Mis, which utilises projections based on paintings by Hugo created by son et lumiere auteurs Fifty-Nine Productions. The internationally renowned team led by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer, who have come a long way since their early work at the Traverse Theatre, the National Theatre of Scotland and with Stellar Quines Theatre Company.

 Having worked worldwide on the National Theatre’s production of War Horse and the 2012 Olympics, more recently 59 have been responsible for opening events of the Edinburgh International Festival, Deep Time, Bloom and the First World war-themed Five Telegrams. The latter projected images onto the walls of the Usher Hall accompanied by a thundering score by Anna Meredith.

 “There have been so many improvements to Les Miserable this year,’ says Schonberg. “That has a lot to do with technological developments which wouldn’t have been possible even five years ago.”

 This keeps the show fresh for several generations of theatre-goers, as was proven last week, when Schonberg met a woman who told him how she’d seen Les Miserables a staggering 300 times.

 “For Christmas she was taking her children and grand-children to see the show with hr again,’ he says.”

 What Les Miserables taps into, again, Schonberg isn’t sure about. All he can say is that “I think we did the right job, but it is the novel that is responsible for the success of the show, and for whatever reason, people seem to leave the theatre a bit different. People are scared for the future. They’re all looking for a bright tomorrow and waiting for the sun to shine, and people come out of the show perhaps believing they can be a better person.”

(x)

[iphoenixrising]

I said I was kind of going on a hiatus. Too many things in my brain pan, but I connected with such a wonderful person, @careamorran, and had to write a thing based on a spectacular piece of art :D The post is here, and I really just wanted a little fun and maybe a little angst ;)

**

The blast of sunlight in his eyes is the conscious train rolling down the track. You know, right at his face.

After his syrupy thoughts evaluated the stabbing to his eyes as something non-lethal, the need to throw something sharp and vaguely bat-shaped at the defenseless windows fades enough that he can squint at the alarm clock on the bedside table.

Dammit.

He and Jay have plans for the day. Partially because it’s been two years today, and since Jason Todd is actually a sentimental cinnamon roll underneath the intense murder you vibe, Tim had managed to wrangle his reluctant significant other into finally getting the new ident set-up. It’s been a long time coming, and they’ve been arguing on and off about seeing to the details for weeks.

(“Things like a driver’s license, Jay.”)

(A careless shrug with a mouth full of meatball sub, “I drive, Timmers. I drive all the time.”)

(“Legally. The key here is legally.”)

His boyfriend had finally caved for their anniversary, and Tim would be damned if they missed the opportunity because of a long night in Gotham’s seedy underworld.

(Black Mask? Totally an ass hat, and no, he gives no shits about ruining the guy’s night. Seriously, fuck him. Mask literally hit on the Red Hood, right in front of him.)

With a soft groan of the newly conscious, Tim sits up, still wavery, and in desperate need of caffeine.

Desperate. Need.

The yawn is jaw-cracking, and he’s already reaching over for the lump of still-snoozing, just a tuft of dark hair peeking out from under their fluffy comforter in Jay’s room at the Manor.

If he grins a little, thinking someone as bad ass as the Red Hood is incredibly cute, well, no one else would ever have to know.

“Jay,” his voice still husky is bordering on fond, “we should get up, it’s late.”

He’s expected the inevitable, “where’s m’ good morning kiss, Timmy?” and to be pulled back down because Jay is really just as bad as Dick when it comes to pre-consciousness cuddling.

The hand moving fast to grab his wrist, to stop him from making contact isn’t necessarily unexpected because of reasons like ingrained instincts and Robin training. The occasional accidental injuries aren’t anything new. At times, it might be things like terrible nightmares or remnants of the Lazarus Pit. On the flip side, it might be residual panic because instead of Kon or Bart or Steph or Bruce, it’s Jason spitting out a mouth full of blood and gripping his harness with wide eyes and stuttering heart.

“Hey, calm down, it’s just--”

And whatever he’d been about to say in the usual soothing way dies in his throat when Jay turns, still in the t-shirt he’d thrown in before they’d fallen into bed last night, and--

Tim’s eyes go wide in shock and surprise.

Who the fuck is in bed with me!?

The set of jawline and ensuing frown is so painfully familiar--

From that time when Tim was a kid with a camera and Robin dove in out of the night to save him from a thug.

A Robin in his prime.

A Robin that’s fifteen instead of twenty-five.

Holy shit, Batman.

“Oh…” is about all his half-wired brain can muster.

Those eyes, the same ones from the painting in the main hall that used to be one of his safe places, the eyes without the green flecks, take stock, roving over Tim’s sleep-mussed hair, his face, his bare throat and chest, his too-big boxers.

And something seems to click.

“WHAAT THE FUUUCK?!!”

Is about as horrified as you can imagine.

The ensuing fight is really anticlimactic. Jason has aged-down equivalently, so while he can still duck, dodge, and fight better than any average person, he doesn’t have memories further than now meanwhile Tim hasn’t lost an ounce of his edge.

“You need to calm it down, Robin,” he tries while blocking a punch that is decidedly lower than what he’s used to. Yeah, throwing out that little bombshell is really a 50/50, but nothing else he can possibly say would help either:

*I’m your boyfriend, and you will be seriously pissed at yourself if you hurt me.

*I was the Robin after you, promise.  I only got pants because those green panties were a hard ‘no.’

*You haven’t tried killing me in a whole year. Can we stop trying to break the record?

As it turns out, maybe he should have because those eyes go wide and the fight takes on a more desperate turn.

Well, fuck.

He catches the knee before it takes out his jaw, his suddenly longer reach catching the much smaller fist in the palm of his hand. “That’s enough, Jay. You’re going to--” get yourself hurt.

But the younger is panting and red-face, gritting his teeth with narrowed eyes, and an obvious plan in the works when he realizes he’s not going to beat Tim.

“Who,” and the tone isn’t as low and growling as the Red Hood, but it still jars Tim right in all the places where he’s still mesmerized by the second Robin, “the fuck are you and how didja find out?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, so I’m going to let Bruce and Dick fill you in,” he replies, easing back slowly.

The teenager’s eyes narrow in suspicion.

“How about this then: you hide books all over the Manor. Alfred found A Separate Peace, The Outsiders, 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Once and Future King just to name a few.” He leaves the ones he’s found off the list just because the memories of his post-Robin life are apparently gone, and Tim is in no hurry to fill him in on the horrific events starting with the trip to Ethiopia.

Jason’s mouth falls open in a little ‘o’ of shock.

“One more just so you feel better about this: the first time B got hurt, seriously hurt, defending you, you called Dick at Titan’s Tower in New York.” His hands up in that not dangerous pose, he eases just slightly closer, tilting his head to actually look down. “It was that time with Killer Croc and you were freaked out.”

“How--” the teenager struggles, blinking at him with those blue, blue eyes, all of it without the Pit’s influence riding him.

With that realization, a horrible kind of plan hits Tim right in the brain pan.

“I know you’re Robin, so there’s some evidence, Mister Junior Detective.”

Jay gives him a huffing sneer, “real wise ass, ain’t cha?”

“Learned from the best,” he deadpans with a sad half-smile and fond eyes, “So, I vote we go downstairs, find Alfred so I can have some coffee, and then Bruce so he can have a holy shit moment of his own.”

Still staring at him, still calculating the risks and possible nefarious plots afoot, Jason only follows because he’s planning the best way to take this guy he’d woken up with down (and maybe staring down at his ass) while they went down the grand staircase.

Luckily, as it happens to go in Wayne Manor, at least someone has the patience to deal with things like utter fuckery.

That person will always be Alfred Pennyworth.

“Good morning Master--”

If Tim wasn’t as light and fast on his feet, there would be a whole lot of smashed ceramic all over the floor.

“My-my word, Master...Master Jason?”

“Mornin’ Alf,” the teenager waves a little, grinning sheepishly. “Found Slick here runnin’ the halls, so’s I thought maybe ya know who he is.”

(Slick? Tim arches a brow at that because really)

Alfred blatantly looks over, immediately getting back his usual calm, cool, and collected. “I do hope the scuffle I heard upstairs did not result in any bloodshed on the Turkish carpets, Master Tim.”

“I’m hurt at your complete lack of faith in my kick-ass skills, Alfred,” he waves a hand on his way to the sideboard where wonderful things (like coffee, please, please, please give him coffee to be able to deal with this and what he should very much not tell Jason) waited. He pauses to get his thoughts together, makes a mental Venn Diagram of the potential backlash of both scenarios, and adds cream with a little sugar so he doesn’t down the first mug liked boiling lava.

“I’m Tim Drake. Nice to meet you, by the way. It’s much nicer when we’re not trying to kill each other,” and yeah, that’s Alfred clearing his throat just a little. “I’m also a vigilante, so of course I’ve heard of Robin,” luckily, the way to trip up Jason’s radar is to tell the lie with just enough truth mixed in, “and I do work with Batman sometimes on out-of-town cases. I also do data collection and reconnaissance for the Titans, who I’m sure you’ve at least met at this juncture.” First few desperate sips accomplished, he moves to take a spot at the table and wait until Jason warily joins him, scrappy and scrawny, eyes that take in everything.

And he moves lighter on his feet, without a hell of a lot of burdens and probably a mass of missing scars from things like crowbars and insane psychopaths that deal in megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur. It’s a Jason Tim’s only known with a mask, and it’s a rough moment to stop himself from reaching out across the table to grip those twitchy fingers, but all he can do is swallow his heart back down in the vicinity of his chest, glance at Alfred with a little Batanese using just his eyebrows.

Without giving the his younger boyfriend an opportunity to ask, he cuts in with, “occasionally, B lets me stay over when a case gets...rough. It was last night anyway. I’m sorry I surprised you, but I’d been awake for about seventy-odd hours by then, so I was pretty compromised.”

Pretty much all true.

During the distraction, Alfred turns to busy himself at the sideboard. A glow in Tim’s peripheral is probably the butler texting the fam. B, Come downstairs immediately; Damian, please do not yet come downstairs. I shall bring breakfast up straight away. Dick, your presence would be appreciated at the Manor. It seems we have a situation. To make it a little more obvious he’s being serious, Alfred completely takes advantage of a displaced Jason, too busy staring Tim down from across the table, to snap a discreet picture to follow-up all those texts.

A fresh glass of juice and a side cup of coffee makes some of the tension ease from Jay’s shoulders, “sounds pretty stupid, you feel me? First rule of being a cape: take care a’ yerself. What we got against these crazy assholes? At the end of the day, it’s yer fists and yer brains, so ya gotta make sure ya got enough in ya ta take the beating.”

And it’s a fifteen-year-old Jason pointing a finger at him around his juice and all mock-serious, which it totally why he starts laughing without snorting coffee up his nose. Points for him.

“You are terrible at mocking B in lecture-mode. Terrible,” he shakes his head a little once he’s sure he isn’t going to choke, “more practice, okay? You’ll totally get there, but don’t think you’re ever beating out Dick. He is the official runner-up in the Best Dad Lecture category.”

A heartbeat and Jason starts to crack a grin, laughing out loud in that younger voice, the blue of his eyes without the Pit lingering, without the grim realizations of the day he’s going to die (again). He’s so heartbreakingly innocent of it all (and Tim just wonders how Bruce is going to take this because things like tears and BatDad are going to go down soon--he can feel it).

So by the time Alfred emerges from the kitchen with warm eggs and fluffy waffles, the tension has eased down between the former Robins by the way they throw stories back and forth.

“Yer kiddin’ me,” Jason deadpans back.

“All true, I swear. Freeze and Ivy watched him bust his bat ass--”

“Y’know, there was one time he fell through a crappy roof right inta a ladies’ shower, right?”

“I’m sorry what now?”

“That ain’t what she was thinking, Timmy. Just takin’ a shower and boom, there’s the Bat admiring the decor an’ shit.”

The mental image is enough to get him started all over again, laughing while huddled over his precious, beautiful coffee and lost staring at the fucking beautiful sight of his younger, unburdened significant other. Even better, more evidence in favor of the formulating plan clicks into place with Jason’s easy laugh and wild gestures. But it all comes down to basic facts: fifteen or twenty-five, this is the crazy idiot he loves. And if this is a golden opportunity to give the guy a second chance, one without the Joker and ticking bombs, without being buried alive, and thrown in the Lazarus Pit, it might well be worth the effort.

[aion-rsa]

The Flash: Inside the Return of Jay Garrick

https://ift.tt/38em5TC

Jay Garrick, the original Flash, gets his first solo story in over a decade in The Flash #750.

facebook

twitter

tumblr

Jay Garrick was the first Flash of the DC Universe. Debuting (appropriately enough) in the pages of Flash Comics #1 in 1939, he was a founding member of the first superhero team in history with the Justice Society of America, proved so popular he earned a solo book (with the quaintly 1940s title of All-Flash), and ran laps around every other speedster in comics until 1951 when he and most other superheroes not named Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman were quietly put out to pasture in favor of romance, horror, crime, and war titles. Jay was replaced by the sleeker, more jet-age friendly Barry Allen in 1956, and in an era where kids were still expected to outgrow the comics of their youth, it seemed that Jay was destined to become a forgotten relic of comics history.

But you can't keep a character with Jay's jaunty, Mercury-helmeted flair down, and by 1961 the character returned for regular team-ups with Barry. The explanation for his absence became the lynchpin of the entire concept behind DC's famed multiverse. You can make the argument that 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, still the greatest superhero crossover of all time, and its recent wildly successful TV adaptation, only exist because of Jay Garrick. Over the next 50 years, Jay became something of a superheroic elder statesman, offering fatherly advice to speedsters like Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen in the pages of The Flash, while mentoring other young heroes in the pages of JSA.

But the original version of Jay was removed from continuity at the start of DC's New 52 era in 2011, and it seemed that DC Comics was ready to sweep Jay and his Justice Society of America compatriots under the rug in favor of adventures focusing primarily on Barry Allen and the Justice League. But just as surely as Krypton's red sun will rise in the morning (wait, no...that's a terrible and inappropriate comparison), DC continuity will always evolve, and after 2016's Rebirth restored the legacy of the Flash family, long an essential part of the Flash mythos, it seemed inevitable that Jay Garrick would return. 

But it took another full year before Jay finally showed up in The Flash by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Jay's return took place in The Button, a tale which saw Batman and Barry Allen picking up the threads of Rebirth that would eventually lead to Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Doomsday Clock. Jay only made the briefest of appearances, emerging from the Speed Force to the confusion of a Barry Allen who didn't yet remember a character who once meant so much to him (and readers). Since then, the Justice Society made their triumphant return thanks to the events of Doomsday Clock, and Barry spent some time with Jay and the JSA thanks to "The Justice-Doom War" story in the pages of Justice League.

And now we're about to get our first Jay Garrick solo adventure in over a decade, as part of The Flash #750, an 80-page giant anniversary celebration that will celebrate the history of the Scarlet Speedster and lay the groundwork for what's to come. We spoke with writer Joshua Williamson, who has been steering the adventures of the Flash and friends for nearly four years, about what it was like to finally spend some quality time with the Flash who started it all.

Den of Geek: How did you envision Jay's voice? You've written the entire Flash family, so how do you make Jay's voice distinct within that?

Joshua Williamson: It's interesting with Jay because I'm writing a different version of him. Because the version of Jay that I've always heard in my head was always Geoff Johns' version from his Flash run or from JSA. That's always the one that I've heard as this sort of elder statesman who was wise and kind of saw the world with a different perspective. He was, I don't want to say slowing down, but he just had kind of this older ... wiser point of view on things than Wally did. He wasn't quite like Barry, because Barry was always calm and measured. Barry's always sort of suffering and kind of tragic because of the things that happened in his past and always kind of lost in his head, whereas Jay's not like that. Jay is not lost in his head. I think Jay kind of tells it like it is. I think he's a little more of a straight arrow.

So one thing I thought about was how this version of Jay that I'm writing is not the "learned" version of Jay. It is not the one that went through all this crazy stuff and now is at the other end of it and is kind of a little more seasoned. This is the Jay that has only been the Flash for a little bit. But even if you go back and you read those old classic stories, he still even then was a little more measured. There was a little bit of a humor to him, a little bit of a smirk. It was a little different. So I really approached it from all of that. I kind of put all of that into a pot and just kind of started stirring them in my head. The hard thing was making sure he didn't sound like Barry. I don't want him to just be another Barry. 

There is a line of dialogue in there that makes me feel like he does share a certain hopeful worldview with Barry. 

Yeah, I think that's a Flash thing. It's important to the Flash family and I wanted to make sure that was still there. That is still a part of it. And Barry was influenced by Jay. We did that thing and in The Flash: Year One we showed Barry reading those old Jay comics. I wanted to maintain the idea that Barry's first encounter with Jay was reading those old comics. So a lot of what Barry got going into being the Flash he got from Jay and I wanted to keep that, and one of those things was that idea of maintaining hope during dark times.

That hopeful theme, and the fact it takes place in the early 1940s, makes this feel like a kind of sequel to the story that Scott Snyder and Bryan Hitch did in Wonder Woman #750. So is this supposed to kind of be the next chapter of that in a way?

I wouldn't say the next chapter, but I would definitely say it's in the same vein. It's supposed to honor that story and show these things are happening and this story is moving forward. I think it's another sign of a bigger story that we're telling in the DC Universe that you're going to start seeing more and more.

There's other stories inside The Flash #750 aside from this one that kind of move a couple of things forward that you'll see in the spring and then the summer leading into the fall. So I would say it's not like it's a sequel, but it is another piece of that puzzle that we're building.

There was a moment in a recent issue of Justice League where Barry is in the 1940s with the JSA, and he tells Jay he feels like they've already met, but Jay doesn't feel that way, since their first meeting hasn't happened for Jay yet. There's obviously coordination with you, Scott Snyder, and other DC writers. I feel like that's happening with these JSA stories. How were these kind of divided up between everybody?

I mean, I actually wrote this Jay story before the Wonder Woman story was written. And Scott and I talk fairly frequently throughout the week and throughout the day, we bounce back and forth and kind of get on the phone or get on chat so we can talk to each other. I mean we just talked to each other. It's that easy. We talk to each other and we discuss what we're going to do and he knew I was going to be doing this story and then I thought he was going to be doing that story and there was a little bit of an "Oh, okay, can we connect these?" We make sure it's all part of the thing.

Scott's always really liked Wonder Woman and he's always wanting to do a story with Wonder Woman in this specific area. So I think it was perfect for him. I always wanted to bring Jay in and do a hopeful story with Jay. This one Jay story you're getting is eight pages in an 80 page book. And it's funny...once you read all 80 pages, these eight pages are going to take on a whole new meaning for you. You're going to look at certain things and be like "Oh, that's what this was about." It'll actually start to build. 

There's a lot in those eight pages though. I was actually amazed at how much info you get into this and I feel like some of that is just because David Marquez's art is just so clear and beautiful.

It's so beautiful. [David] and Alejandro [Sanchez], they had never worked with each other before they started working with each other on Batman/Superman and they just clicked immediately. And it's on fire. They worked so well together. I'm hoping they work together from now on like this. Because you look at those pages, it's awesome. I mean that's probably the coolest two page spread of Jay Garrick that exists is that first spread the two of them did.

Yeah! Did you suggest putting them on this story when you were conceiving it? How did that come about?

David was wrapping up Batman/Superman and he's going to be working on some other stuff at DC. But him and I are good friends and we were talking to each other a lot, and I had been talking to him about maybe doing something Flash related, even if it's just covers, just to keep working with him because I like him a lot. And then we knew we were doing this story and we were looking at the room we had and I was like "oh hey, there's eight pages here." 

So yeah, before I wrote one word, I knew David was drawing the story and that definitely impacted sort of what I was thinking with it. And I think that Batman/Superman is a bit of a darker story. And so with this it was nice to kind of give David something that was a little more hopeful and bright and a little more positive. But that was all going into my head as I wrote it. Once I knew David was drawing it, then I started writing it just with him in mind.

Talk about the little tweaks that have been made to Jay's costume, which I think are even more apparent here since we're just seeing them so big and clear for the first time. Did you have any input on that and is there now a full blown Jay Garrick DC style guide about how this character looks across the books?

That design is almost three years old now. Jim Lee and Jason Fabok worked on that costume maybe about three years ago because we knew that Jay was going to be in The Button. So that was just the costume design they came up with during that time period, and I was in those conversations. But generally you let Jim Lee be Jim Lee, right? You let that guy go cut loose and he was working with Jason, who's also a great designer and a great artist. So a lot of times when you're working with those artists, you just kind of take a step back and watch and see what they come up with. I like this new design. I like all the little touches that come with it and I'm glad that we got to continue using it because we only got to see it once in The Button in one issue for a few pages. So it was cool we got to bring it back for this story.

We don't really associate Jay with having the kind of rich rogues gallery that Barry has or even that Wally has. And here we get that one panel with Ragdoll, the Fiddler, the Shade, the Thinker, and Rival all together. So how much of that did you talk about with David? Have you started sketching out in your head the weirdness of the Keystone villains or the culture that they might have compared to the Central City Rogues?

No, I didn't really get that deep into them. I mean I like those villains and I think they speak to that specific time period and they were great for Jay. My rule for that one panel, and I talked to David about this, was make sure they look deadly. Make sure they look cool. Make sure they look like they're a threat. I wanted to make sure we showed that in that moment. The most important thing to that was to show a little piece of his world. 

I didn't want to get too deep into what his villains were like just yet. I really like Jay's villains and I think there's something really interesting to them. But right now I'm just not in a position to flesh it out as much as I would want to, but I wanted to make sure I showed them. 

Why did you settle on the Thinker as the one to showcase?

Once I looked at all these villains, I looked at the visual of the Thinker. I actually really like Thinker and I've never used him in the book since I've been working on it. I went back and looked at some other stories and every time I kept coming back around to Thinker and it made sense. Because it really came down to being either him or the Fiddler. And I like Ragdoll a lot, but I just kept going back and forth with them. I just liked his visual and I liked his story and I like his character and I thought this is the best character for this moment in time to show what Jay's going through.

What kind of research did you do for Jay? How far back did you go? 

I knew the Flash pretty well even before I got the job. I could have these conversations with people and we can get deep into stuff and I can cite issue numbers. But admittedly Jay, I was a little less knowledgeable about compared to everybody else. Wally, Barry, and Bart, I knew those characters really well. I would say the pre-Crisis Jay I was not as familiar with as post-Crisis Jay. I knew post-Crisis Jay pretty well. So when I got the job on The Flash more than four years ago, I started reading up on these things. The thing was that I wasn't able to write much of Jay, so I didn't always go back as deep. I would go to little things here and there. I was looking for stuff, especially little stuff with some of the villains. 

I would say about maybe two years ago, I started reading more and more Jay books and being fascinated. When I was a kid I had this book, it's called The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer. It's this collection. It's a hardcover that came out in the 1950s that has the origin of a bunch of heroes. There's some Marvel, some DC, but Will Eisner's The Spirit is also in there. It's this really weird collection of things that are pre-Silver Age. It's like right on the cusp of the Silver Age. And in there was Jay Garrick's origin story [From Flash Comics #1 in 1940] and that was my first encounter with Jay even as a little kid. I knew who the Flash was. But my first real story I read with any Flash was probably the Jay one. I've always been fascinated by his origin in that first issue. So whenever I go back, I always go back to that first issue, because everything you need to know about a lot of these characters you can get from the first issues of the books.

I kept reading that first issue and figuring out more and more about Jay from that, and then gradually read a few things here and there. I've almost read all of them at this point. I just don't know as much about him as some of the other Flashes. I mean he was on the book for over a hundred issues. He was the Flash! In preparation for the story I made sure I read that first one again because we're kind of building out this new sort of mythology with him a little bit. As you can kind of see I'm trying to make sure I honor the character. I always come back around to that. I make sure I honor the character and what has happened and never negate or go against something, just add new levels to it. So that was really my priority was going back and just seeing those key things with his character and how I can make it so I can honor that and just continue to add the Flash mythology.

The Flash #750 arrives on March 4.

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

facebook

twitter

tumblr

Interview Mike Cecchini

Feb 7, 2020

DC Entertainment

The Flash

from Books https://ift.tt/2H47oX3

[sohotthateveryonedied]

Hi so I used to love your blog until I found out you ship Bluepulse and I wanted to let you no that your realy gross and I'm unfollowing you now. To ship somebody with a whole three year age gap is dsicusting and you should rethink your decisions. Also your blog sucks and you should realy just get off this websight please?? Or maybe kill yourself or stop shipping Bluepulse, whichever comes first. Kay thanks by bitch 😑

*gasp* Oh my goodness gracious you're unfollowing me?!?! Okay then awesome!!! Thank you so much!!!! You know, because I have 2,131 followers currently, and if you unfollow then that means I'll get back down to an even number, so thanks so much for that huge favor!!! Good riddance!!!

And I don't know what exactly you've been smoking lately, but a three year age gap is really no big deal. And I try to stay out of all the Bluepulse conflict, so I won't bring up more than the age gap. I don't want to get into anything more than the fact that you think a tiny age difference like that is an issue. If they were 50 and 53, would you be having the same brain aneurysm you're having now over this? I doubt it. And everyone keeps saying it's so gross to put them together because a 13 year old shouldn't be doing icky things with a 16 year old, (which I agree with completely, young people like Bart should not be doing gross things like that at all), but who said they were doing anything like that in the first place?? On my blog, Bluepulse is about two cute young boys in love who do cheesy romance things like holding hands and playing video games on dates. Completely innocent; nothing more than kisses. Not to mention that Bart grew up in a dystopian future, which caused him to mature more than any kid should have to, so mentally he's probably more advanced than even Jaime. And again, I don't want to start a whole thing and get into arguments with other users because I try to stay peaceful, but all I'm saying is that a three year age gap is not the problem here. If anything, your obnoxious attitude is.  

So respectfully, please slam that unfollow button as fast as you possibly can and stay away from me in the future because you seem like a fairly rude person. Having an opinion is great and I fully support sticking to your own beliefs, but sending hate like this just means you're a bad person, and I would much rather we agree to disagree than have to waste my time answering your BS anon hate. 

And may I just say that your pleasant little comment about me killing myself was completely uncalled for? What if I did? What if I killed myself right now because your first grade-level hate mail hurt my feelings enough to do that? I'd bet you'd feel pretty guilty then, wouldn't you? So you'd better hope and pray that neither I nor anybody else you've sent hate to takes it too hard, otherwise you're going to hate yourself just as much as you hate me. Have fun with that on your conscience! 👍

And by the way:

*know

*really 

*you're

*disgusting (if you need help remembering this one, just spell it whenever you look in the mirror bc you'll have to do it every time and it'll be much easier to memorize)

*website

*bye 

I would heavily recommend investing in a dictionary if I were you. If you're going to be sending people more hate it might benefit you to learn how to do it properly, otherwise you will sound even more like an ignorant first grader than you already do. And judging by your horrid grammar and spelling, I'm going to go ahead and assume you are maybe 12 at most, in which case you should wait until you're more mature to start using this website. Have fun unfollowing me, sweetie! 😘 

[fireandgloryrpg]

Congratulations Ari and welcome! We’re so happy to accept your application to play Jason Grace with the faceclaim of Derek Theler in Fire & Glory RPG! We can’t wait to begin roleplaying with you so please remember to look over our checklist!

Name: Ari Age: 29 Timezone: EST Triggers: redacted Activity: I’m like a 7.5. I’m pretty consistent about my activity but I’ve got a life outside my computer…. or at least I’m trying to. Desired Character: Jason Grace Birthday: July 1

Reason:

I’ve always loved Jason. I think the stoic and ever-ready commander would have given way to a more introspective high priest as the teens gave way to the twenties. He’s saved the world and the camp a couple of times… now it’s time for him to work on himself. 

Changes:

I’d like to change the fc. Either to Cody Saintgnue (first choice) or Austin Butler

Biography

23

Pontifex Maximus of New Rome and full-time college freshman

Took some time in his teens to make sure the world, gods, and monster were settled and is just now getting to college.

Happily single, though he and Piper still remain the closest of friends.

Is a creative writing major at school, with a minor in history

Works at a bookstore in New Rome

Para Sample:

Somewhere in the world a monster was rearing its ugly head; set to terrorize the demigod world. Somewhere a God sat in slumberless eternity, thinking and plotting machinations that would ultimately cause trouble for their children. Somewhere evil lurked and waited and hungered and finally, after two decades of fighting it, Jason Grace could firmly say that for the moment it was someone else’s problem.

“Thank you for calling Pages Galore. This is Jason what can I help you find today?”

Jason loved his job. He loved books, he loved reading, and he loved helping people find exactly the book they needed, even if they didn’t know that was the case yet.

“Yes we have 50 Shades in stock. No I don’t need to doublecheck I promise you I’m looking at a display of it right now. It’s stacked about forty books high so unless all of New Rome decides they suddenly want to go on a poorly-written erotica bender you’re probably in the clear…… uh huh…… of course….. Mmhmmmm…. Have a great morning and thank you for shopping at Pages Galore.”

Okay sometimes people had terrible taste in literature, and very rarely he got insanely demanding customers, but what other job would let him sit at the front desk and do his homework while he waited to wait on people. He’d opted not to go to New Rome University when he finally had settled down enough in his job and life to actually think about college. UC Berkeley was just a hop skip and a jump outside of the city and had a convenient BART stop right outside the campus. He’d spent so long inside the demigod world that at 23 he thought it was a good idea to spend some time with normal people. The downside, of course, was that normal people didn’t really accept ‘But I had to save the world’ as a valid excuse for not turning in your homework; so he found himself scrambling extra hard to keep up with work, school, and hero life.

The bell above the door rang out and he snapped the textbook he’d been buried in shut and threw on his most glittering customer service smile “Good morning! Welcome to Pa–” his usual customer service banter was cut short when he recognized the man coming through the door as not a random customer, but his best friend holding two cups of coffee. “Oh if one of those is for me I’ll get down on one knee and profess my undying love for you right here right now.”

Percy slid one of the cups across the counter and held his hand out for their customary fist bump, “I got your text. Someone overslept did they? Not really your style, hermano.”

Jason took a deep swig of the coffee, flavored just how he liked it, and tucked his pen behind his ear. “I was up late doing homework last night and forgot to set an alarm. Only just made it here in time to open, didn’t even have time for morning yoga.”

“I know it’s bad when you don’t have time for morning yoga.”

“I feel like you’re being sarcastic right now… but you brought me coffee so I’m gonna let it slide.” Taking another sip of the delicious and caffeinated beverage that Percy had brought him Jason felt a contented smile slide across his face. Maybe this wasn’t exactly what he thought he’d be doing in his mid-twenties. But he was safe, his friends were happy, and he had a home.

He could definitely work with this.

[rbeatz]

rBeatz Exclusive Interview with Rony Rex

Helsinki DJ, Rony Rex, has been rising the ranks as a DJ headliner, touring from Tunisia to Thailand and England to Egypt on a regular basis. He never had to produce to get these headlining shows. His technical mixing abilities, song selection and humble prowess got him headlining. Last week, he released his debut EP, F*cked It Up, off the Youth Control label. He debuted his first single, Sticky Fingers, only two months ago, and it went straight to #1 on the iTunes Finnish Chart. Soon after that, the prolific DJ’s debut single hit #4 in the Spotify Viral Chart. Now notable DJs and tastemakers worldwide are waiting to hear what Rony Rex comes up with next.

Rony is everywhere. He runs his own radio show, Bassoradio, leads DJ workshops for RedBull, collaborates with Sennheiser to stream live DJ sets from unique places, and represents Finland’s leading music production company.

The most popular song on the EP is F*cked It Up, and It features the Finish electro-pop band LCMDF, who have worked with major labels like Sony and Kitsuné. The song has a bit more of an uplifting electro-house vibe than what Rony normally produces. It’s playful, nearing bubblegum-house with sharp lyrics, creating a silly yet hype vibe. This production also shows Rony’s versatility in the space. Rony is a GROOVE master, and this is obvious from his EP.

Take a listen Rony Rex’ entire new EP below, F*cked It Up, and read his interview below to get the FULL Rony Rex experience.

�� INTERVIEW:

Where does the name Rony Rex come from?

My first name is Rony and for the second part I owe much to my good friend Nicolas who helped come up with it when we were sitting in his car in rainy Helsinki around 5am with 3 hours to a deadline to publish a festival gig we had booked with a new alias. I like it since it sounds fun and means all kinds of cool things such as “king” in Latin. Plus, it’s the best dog name ever.

Where are you from and how has that shaped the musician you are today?

I’m from Espoo, Finland which is just next to Helsinki. Classic suburban life. When I was a kid I remember always feeling music a lot but not really playing any instruments. When we got our first family computer, I pretty much made it my own and hid it in my room, searching Napster (good old) for all kinds of music. Remember when people used to rename their songs as “50 cent – In Da Club” to make people download? That’s how I first discovered loads of new music and genres.

Later as a teen I started hosting these house parties at my parents place. I used to DJ together with friends and we even had bands playing in the living room. The parties grew quite big, still get shivers when thinking about the moments when I got caught by my folks. Those were my first steps into the magical world of DJing. I moved on to promote my own clubs and then started to get bookings around Finland and Europe. Even though I’ve been making music for years now I still (and probably always will) consider myself more a DJ than producer or musician.

What instruments did you play when you were younger?

I spent most of my time playing around with a cracked version of Virtual DJ running on an old Windows 98 desktop trying to make all kinds of devices work as midi controllers.

Is there an instrument that you currently wish you COULD play?

Recently I performed together with musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments (don’t ask). Can’t remember what one of the instruments was called but it made a super funny noise like a vacuum cleaner on acid under water. That one.

Tell us the story of how you started creating music on your computer?

The usual one. Got the eJay demo CD in a cereal box and got on with it.

What was your favorite studio moment when producing your newest EP, F*cked It Up EP?

The dance that spontaneously happened in a studio in Berlin together with LCMDF and my friend Perttu when we had just finished recording the first version of the lead track, F*cked It Up. That’d make a solid music video.

What festival are you looking forward to the most this year?

Weekend Festival in Helsinki. It’s been a thrill seeing it grow from humble beginnings into one of the biggest in the Nordics. They have a new stage called focused on House and Techno which I can’t wait to play.

What do you like to do when you’re simply hanging out – aside from music?

I love getting out into nature when I can, run, do body-weight exercises and just wander around breathing. Balances the hectic lifestyle. Gaming is big for me too, when there’s time. Classics especially, challenge me for a round of Age Of Empires 2 anytime.

Who are your musical influences?

In no particular order of any deeper meaning; Daft Punk, Justice, The Prodigy, Boys Noize, Sub Focus, Diplo, Fatboy Slim, Bart B More, Jack Beats, AC Slater, Alex Metric, Laidback Luke & Mr. Oizo.

What DAW do you use and why?

Ableton Live because it is flexible and suits my workflow.

Do you have a typical music production process? If yes, can you explain it?

It could come from anything but often I just start making a loop for around an hour and see if it still feels good, if it has gathered colour in itself. If so, I start thinking where that colour needs to go and moving it that way. What is the story it will play on the dance floor? I use the DJ’s perspective a lot in the creation process.

What is your favorite MIDI Controller or instrument to produce with right now?

The Akai MPK mini Mk2. Fits in the gig bag.

What is one of your favorite or go-to VST Plugin?

Massive. It’s getting kind of ancient but once you learn something it’s easier to get what I want. Rather that than having 1000 plugins I never touch.

What is your biggest accomplishment to date?

Successfully played a gig in the world’s largest sauna with around 200 people dancing in around 80 degrees Celsius heat and the CDJ’s and mixer covered in water and sweat.

What are some of your favorite venues to play and why?

All venues with a good sound where I can get close and intimate with the crowd without any extra bs. Interaction and dancing together with the people is big for me.

What are some of your favorite countries to play and why?

I’ve been playing in Croatia for like 4 years now every season. Love what’s going on there. Such good parties on the Islands.

What is your favorite color?

Black.

What food do you eat the most?

There’s this one perfect Thai restaurant quite close to my house. It’s so weird, I have never been in there but always order in. Basically live on that.

Do you have a favorite in-studio snack 

Smoothies. The greener the better.

What is your favorite social media platform and why?

Facebook because of its solid live streaming tools.

What is next for Rony Rex?

I’ve got a good bunch of tracks waiting to see the sun and a remix EP of F*cked It Up coming out in early August.

from rBeatz.com http://ift.tt/2teiBuK