#what if Superman was a Josei

[saccharinescorpion]

i know why they had to put it on Adult Swim

[spiderdreamer-blog]

My Adventures With Superman: “Adventures of a Normal Man, Pts. 1 and 2″ Review

Since the end of Superman: The Animated Series, Superman has not had an animated series solely dedicated to himself as an adult in the intervening 23 years. He’s certainly been part of team shows like Justice League/Unlimited or Legion of Superheroes (albeit as a teenaged Superboy) that had his character as a key component. And there have been no shortage of movies, live action or animated, that starred him either. But it feels like something’s been lost, especially on the live action end, where interesting ideas by Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill largely failed to coalesce into a compelling character (and also were a major contributing factor in the current disaster zone that is Warner Bros. Discovery, so, that doesn’t help). But we finally have a new series starring him in My Adventures With Superman, and its two-part premiere has finally surfaced. How do things shake out for the Man of Steel?

Rather than start with the standard origin, the series picks up with Clark Kent (Jack Quaid, The Boys, Star Trek: Lower Decks) arriving in Metropolis to start work at the Daily Planet as an intern alongside his roommate Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid, Cousins for Life). They quickly meet Lois Lane (Alice Lee, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), a fellow intern who dreams of bigger things, but is currently stymied by the Planet’s gruff editor-in-chief Perry White (Darrell Brown, Gabby’s Dollhouse). Lois drags Jimmy and Clark along on a story about military tech stolen by mercenary Leslie “Livewire” Willis (Zehra Fazal, Voltron Legendary Defender, Amphibia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), which pretty quickly spirals out of control. Clark quickly leaps in to save the day, and now the question of who or what this “Superman” is becomes THE question.

The first, most striking thing about My Adventures With Superman is its look and tone. Aided by the ever-capable Studio Mir, the character designs are bright, expressive, and far more rounded than the stripped-down, angular DCAU look of old. Clark in particular has an appealing sweet softness to his farmboy frame, Jimmy being black has been done before but never quite this excitable, and Lois is now a full-on tomboy with short hair and dark skin, much to the consternation of idiot YouTube grifter screamy men everywhere. This spreads downward to the tone, where producers Jake Wyatt (DuckTales), Brendan Clogher (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and Josie Campbell (She-Ra) basically position the proceedings as a shoujo/josei romantic comedy that happens to have superhero action scenes.

Nothing against them, of course, they’re very well done (and fix a core problem I had with She-Ra in that the action scenes were, number one with a bullet, the weakest part due to jank). But just as much attention is paid to loving close-ups of Lois and Clark blushing as they realize they might LIKE like each other. Needless to say, I find it incredibly charming, especially after years of SnyderBros breathlessly insisting that Cavill’s dour, contemplative lonely god Superman who SNAPS PEOPLE’S NECKS is the best version of the character instead of some pussy who, I don’t know, saves kittens from trees.

(Full disclosure: Cavill is a fine actor in other projects and I have a great deal of admiration for Zack Snyder as a filmmaker, just...not them together for the most part)

In particular, a Clark who’s unsure of himself gives things a bit more of a mysterious tone than usual, particularly in the most intriguing plot hook so far: the Kryptonian ship that he came in contains the usual hologram of Jor-El, but he speaks in garbled Kryptonian that Clark can’t understand and is frightened by as a child. This, the ship creating The Costume (though Martha adds a humanizing touch with a belt and shorts), and a flash of a space battle when he unhooks a piece of damaged tech from Livewire’s back hint that it may be harder than usual to reconcile his Kryptonian and Earth selves. Which I’m not opposed to. While, as said in my STAS review, I don’t generally like the idea that Krypton was some cold unfeeling society with no value to Clark, this could be going a different, more interesting direction.

The awkwardness also adds great dividends to his interplay with Lois, who he generally has to keep up with anyway. Jimmy is also boosted in terms of already having an interest in extraterrestrial stuff, and he feels like a genuine part of the ensemble instead of a third wheel. The supporting cast is also going in some interesting directions, with a wearier Perry White than usual as a solid semi-antagonistic force, Livewire standing out as a smart, canny villain even before she busts out the Electro powers, and an excellent read on the Kents, with Jonathan and Martha warm and supportive, but fretting about losing Clark to this new persona. (Hey, Snyder? That’s how you make the Kents conflicted about Clark being Superman, not “idk, maybe you should let kids die rather than reveal your secret”)

All of this is aided by an incredibly strong voice cast. Quaid is my favorite Clark voice in a long time, affecting a soft dorkiness rather than going for a slightly formal patrician vibe. His comic timing is also great, such as in an early scene where he first meets Lois and is quickly embarrassed. Lee matches him well by switching out Lois’ usual businesswoman vibes for “overcaffeinated”, as well as self-aware enough to admit her mistakes, though not enough to cop to her immediately becoming smitten with Clark. Sahid is a funny, excitable Jimmy, taking the edge off what could have been an eye-rolling “CONSPIRACY THEORIST” gag, and his interplay with Quaid and Lee is often a highlight of the show. On the supporting end, Brown wisely dials down to be a straight man, Fazal is credibly tough and intelligent as usual, Kari Wahlgren gets those aforementioned great beats as Martha, and Azuri Hardy-Jones is immediately endearing as Flip Johnson, a gender-flipped version of the leader of Jack Kirby’s Newsboy Legion (now the NewsKIDS Legion, given some other gender-swaps in the group); she’s very much a believable scrappy kid, worrying at one point if they should call the President or “my mom”.

(Sidebar: the funniest, most unusual casting here is Chris Parnell as an anime twunk-ified Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, who appears as an ominous figure that tries to get intel out of Livewire, fights her, then captures and interrogates her with Amanda Waller and seemingly Sam Lane in attendance after Superman de-escalates the situation. Now, Parnell is an excellent voice actor with a long resume at this point, but his stock in trade is usually characters like Cyril Figgis on Archer or Jerry on Rick & Morty, who are most charitably described as weak-willed sexual obsessives. It’s a head-trip to hear him take on a role previously essayed by deep-voiced gravel pit legends like Ron Perlman, Will Arnett, Mark Rolston, and the late Miguel Ferrer. Though perhaps wisely, he doesn’t try to imitate those guys and leans into his own tones, just more of a smarmy asshole variant. His delivery of “We’re the good guys” at the end of the premiere is wonderfully insincere.)

Overall, My Adventures With Superman is immensely promising and I hope it has a decently long, unimpeded-by-Discovery-fuckery run. By going off-book but also appealing to the fundamentals of the character, it’s a fresh take that I am keenly interested in seeing develop and grow. Also, it’s just really dang cute, sue me.

[fever-fish]

in august 2019, i started recording every movie / tv series or season i watched to completion.

faves in bold

2020 year in review

tonari no kaibutsu-kun

marriage story

the king (the one with rpatts)

dolemite is my name

the gift / atiye s1

sex education s2

psychopath diary

american factory

miss americana

hot stove league

kingdom s2 (zombie sageuk)

emma. (period movie with the queen’s gambit actress)

i am not okay with this s1

history 2: boundary crossing

the breadwinner

hyena (kdrama)

hi bye, mama!

the half of it

the letter for the king s1

we the animals

black dog (kdrama)

never have i ever s1

tharntype

the romance of tiger and rose

queer eye s5

unorthodox

girl from nowhere s1

the old guard

a secret love

he’s coming to me

dakara watashi wa oshimashita

hospital playlist s1

a piece of your mind

the untamed

365: repeat the year

the trader

disclosure (documentary)

money game (kdrama)

mystic pop-up bar

someday or one day

kazoku no katachi

imperial dreams

american murder: the family next door

schitt’s creek s6

enola holmes

13th

josei-teki seikatsu

blackpink: light up the sky

the white helmets

the duchess s1

extracurricular

the queen’s gambit

athlete a

gaya sa pelikula

i told sunset about you

over the moon

flower of evil

joy of life (cdrama)

the burial of kojo

into the ring (kdrama)

saka no tochuu no ie

.

2021 year in review

farewell my concubine

the good place s3

cherry magic (jdrama)

nigehaji special

i am not your negro

feel good s1

his (jmovie)

life senjou no bokura

watashitachi wa doukashiteiru

nagi no oitoma

pornographer

shanai marriage honey

run on

long vacation

sf8: joan’s galaxy

to my star s1

find me in your memory

hikaru no go (cdrama)

a tale of a thousand stars

goodbye my princess

waiting for “superman”

uchi no musume wa, kareshi ga dekinai!!

word of honor

stranger / secret forest s2

the imperial coroner

bo burnham: inside

love and redemption

the square (documentary)

big eden

alice in borderland

the green knight (First movie In Theaters since Covid)

ashes of love

watashi wo kuitomete

doom at your service

hunter x hunter s1, s2, s3, s4

shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings

young royals s1

you are my glory

squid game s1

kimi no me ga toikaketeiru

kikazaru koi niwa riyuu ga atte

journey to the shore

one and only (cdrama)

what we do in the shadows s2

eternals (marvel.....)

single all the way

the witcher s2

spider-man: no way home

scarlet heart (cdrama)

utsukushii kare

[ichayalovesyou]

Service, Sacrifice, Compassion, and Love (Pike Fan Playlist)

This Is Why We Fight by The Decemberists • We’ll Make It Through by Ray LaMontagne • One Last Time from Hamilton • Our World/Brothers from Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas • The Ballad of Bobby and June by Mitch & Mickey • Sons & Daughters by The Decemberists • Marked Man by Mieka Pauley • Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars • 1,000 Light Years Away from Slime Rancher • Bird by Puta Volcano • Fight As One from Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes • Hero by Chad Kroeger & Josey Scott • It’s Hard to Be Human by Kina Grannis • After The Storm by Mumford & Sons by Mumford & Sons • This Island Earth by The Nylons • Barking at the Moon by Jenny Lewis • The Light of Hope from Sonic Forces • I Wish You Peace by Eagles • The Book of Love by The Magnetic Fields • Mars by Sleeping At Last • I Am Here by P!nk • The Truest Stars We Know by Iron & Wine • Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford & Sons • Call It Dreaming by Iron & Wine • Irish Hour by Saint Sister • Dance with Me by Orleans • Caught in the Briars by Iron & Wine • Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford & Sons • The Old Churchyard by Offa Rex • Fall On Me by Andrea & Matteo Bocelli • Resurrection Fern by Iron & Wine • Trampoline by The Unlikely Candidates • Medicine for Melancholy by Rivers Cuomo • Glad Man Singing by Iron & Wine • Home to Me by Devil & the Deep Blue Sea • The Spiritual by Jukebox The Ghost • Walking Far from Home by Iron & Wine • Savannah by Relient K • Blackbird by Sarah McLachlan • The Trapeze Swinger by Iron & Wine • Superman (It’s Not Easy) by Five For Fighting ��

Falling Slowly by Peter Hollens & Alex G • The Traveler by Star Hopper • Right for Sky by Iron & Wine • Corners Of The Earth by ODESZA & RY X • Dead Butterflies by Architects • Don’t Carry It All by The Decemberists • Carried Home by Iron & Wine • Someone New by Hozier • Boy With a Coin by Iron & Wine • Smiley Faces by Gnarls Barkley • The Woods by Cosmo Sheldrake & Erin Robinsong • Godless Brother in Love by Iron & Wine • Twinkling Lights by Annalise Emerick • A Little Better by Gnarls Barkley • The Sound of Silence by Disturbed • Dear Doubt by Michael Schulte • Towards The Sun by Rihanna • L’esprit De L’escalier by Red Handed Denial • Scarborough Fair by Dan Avidan & Super Guitar Bros • Helsinki by The National Parks • Pet a Cat When You Encounter One by Akira The Don & Jordan Peterson • The Big Electron by Melodysheep • Drive by Incubus • Solace by Red Handed Denial • Flaws by Bastille • Blame by Air Traffic Controller • Warrior by Anilah • Fields and Pier by Avriel & The Sequoias • Three Little Birds by Branches • It’s All Too Much by The Beatles • Quarter Past Four by Avriel & The Sequoias • In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars • Heaven’s Eyes by Caleb Hyles & Johnathan Young • Just Breathe by Pearl Jam • A Beautiful Thing by Terra Lumina • The Call by Regina Spektor • The Parting Glass by Hozier • For Good from Wicked • Traveling Song by Ryn Weaver •

Across the Seven Realms from The Bard’s Tale IV • Glorious by Stephanie Mabey • Good Grief by Dessa • Alba II by Faun • History Read by The Altogether • Unsteady by X Ambassadors • Hey Brother by Avicii • Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event • Brother by Kodaline • 21 Guns by Green Day • Stand Up by All That Remains • Castle of Glass by Linkin Park • The Peacock by Beirut • Defend Atlantis by Flobots • Nocturne by Blanco White • The Devil & The Huntsman by Sam Lee • Poor Atlas by Dessa • Speak For The Dead by Daniel Pemberton • Nature Girl by Cryoshell • Dare You to Move by Switchfoot • Ghost Stories by The Narcissist Cookbook • Mushaboom by Feist • Onward to the Edge by Symphony of Science • Follow the Sun by Xavier Rudd • Time In A Bottle by Jim Croce • For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield • Your Bones by Of Monsters & Men • Dark Days by Punch Brothers • Seize the Day by Melodysheep • Mountains by Message To Bears • These Streets by Bastille • Vissel by José González • Oh St Johns by The Saint Johns • A Glorious Dawn by Carl Sagan • Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron • Agoraphobia by Autoheart • Dearest Sarah by Goodnight, Texas • Another New World by Punch Brothers • After All by The Altogether • Hell or High Water by The Rescues

Song list in plain text below the cut

This Is Why We Fight by The Decemberists • We’ll Make It Through by Ray LaMontagne • One Last Time from Hamilton • Our World/Brothers from Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas • The Ballad of Bobby and June by Mitch & Mickey • Sons & Daughters by The Decemberists • Marked Man by Mieka Pauley • Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars • 1,000 Light Years Away from Slime Rancher • Bird by Puta Volcano • Fight As One from Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes • Hero by Chad Kroeger & Josey Scott • It’s Hard to Be Human by Kina Grannis • After The Storm by Mumford & Sons by Mumford & Sons • This Island Earth by The Nylons • Barking at the Moon by Jenny Lewis • The Light of Hope from Sonic Forces • I Wish You Peace by Eagles • The Book of Love by The Magnetic Fields • Mars by Sleeping At Last • I Am Here by P!nk • The Truest Stars We Know by Iron & Wine • Fighting Onward from Sonic Forces • Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford & Sons • Call It Dreaming by Iron & Wine • Irish Hour by Saint Sister • Dance with Me by Orleans • Caught in the Briars by Iron & Wine • Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford & Sons • The Old Churchyard by Offa Rex • Fall On Me by Andrea & Matteo Bocelli • Resurrection Fern by Iron & Wine • Trampoline by The Unlikely Candidates • Medicine for Melancholy by Rivers Cuomo • Glad Man Singing by Iron & Wine • Home to Me by Devil & the Deep Blue Sea • The Spiritual by Jukebox The Ghost • Walking Far from Home by Iron & Wine • Savannah by Relient K • Blackbird by Sarah McLachlan • The Trapeze Swinger by Iron & Wine • Superman (It’s Not Easy) by Five For Fighting

Falling Slowly by Peter Hollens & Alex G • The Traveler by Star Hopper • Right for Sky by Iron & Wine • Corners Of The Earth by ODESZA & RY X • Dead Butterflies by Architects • Don’t Carry It All by The Decemberists • Carried Home by Iron & Wine • Someone New by Hozier • Boy With a Coin by Iron & Wine • Smiley Faces by Gnarls Barkley • The Woods by Cosmo Sheldrake & Erin Robinsong • Godless Brother in Love by Iron & Wine • Twinkling Lights by Annalise Emerick • A Little Better by Gnarls Barkley • The Sound of Silence by Disturbed • Dear Doubt by Michael Schulte • Towards The Sun by Rihanna • L’esprit De L’escalier by Red Handed Denial • Scarborough Fair by Dan Avidan & Super Guitar Bros • Helsinki by The National Parks • Pet a Cat When You Encounter One by Akira The Don & Jordan Peterson • The Big Electron by Melodysheep • Drive by Incubus • Solace by Red Handed Denial • Flaws by Bastille • Blame by Air Traffic Controller • Warrior by Anilah • Fields and Pier by Avriel & The Sequoias • Three Little Birds by Branches • It’s All Too Much by The Beatles • Quarter Past Four by Avriel & The Sequoias • In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars • Heaven’s Eyes by Caleb Hyles & Johnathan Young • Just Breathe by Pearl Jam • A Beautiful Thing by Terra Lumina • The Call by Regina Spektor • The Parting Glass by Hozier • For Good from Wicked • Traveling Song by Ryn Weaver

Across the Seven Realms from The Bard’s Tale IV • Glorious by Stephanie Mabey • Good Grief by Dessa • Alba II by Faun • History Read by The Altogether • Unsteady by X Ambassadors • Hey Brother by Avicii • Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event • Brother by Kodaline • 21 Guns by Green Day • Stand Up by All That Remains • Castle of Glass by Linkin Park • The Peacock by Beirut • Defend Atlantis by Flobots • Nocturne by Blanco White • The Devil & The Huntsman by Sam Lee • Poor Atlas by Dessa • Speak For The Dead by Daniel Pemberton • Nature Girl by Cryoshell • Dare You to Move by Switchfoot • Ghost Stories by The Narcissist Cookbook • Mushaboom by Feist • Onward to the Edge by Symphony of Science • Follow the Sun by Xavier Rudd • Time In A Bottle by Jim Croce • For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield • Your Bones by Of Monsters & Men • Dark Days by Punch Brothers • Seize the Day by Melodysheep • Mountains by Message To Bears • These Streets by Bastille • Vissel by José González • Oh St Johns by The Saint Johns • A Glorious Dawn by Carl Sagan • Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron • Agoraphobia by Autoheart • Dearest Sarah by Goodnight, Texas • Another New World by Punch Brothers • After All by The Altogether • Hell or High Water by The Rescues

[meri47]

Name 7 Comfort Films and Tag 7 People

I was tagged by @fahre​, thank you for the mention! These are all in no particular order, I like each of them best depending on what kind of mood I’m in.

I’ll tag the following people: @amusedyan​, @thornfield13713​, @zukana13731​, @geekgirl101​, @luckystarchild​, @dangerouscommiesubversive​, @gement​. And anyone else who wants to join in!

1. Superman (1978)

Mood Required: I want to watch the good guys win.

2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003)

Mood Required: I want to sit and pine for [childhood/places I used to live/friends I don’t have/jobs I don’t have/etc]

3. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1978)

Mood Required: I am frustrated and I want to take it out on someone but I know I can’t.

4. Mission: Impossible (1996-????)

Mood Required: I want to watch a person do ridiculous things and I don’t care about the plot.

5. Superman vs. The Elite (2012)

Mood Required: I want to feel hopeful and validated about People and Humanity and Heroism.

6. Spy (2015)

Mood Required: I want to laugh my ass off and swear a lot. I don’t care about the plot.

7. Ben-Hur (1959)

Mood Required: I want to sit and be pensive for a while. I also want to do this around my family.

[ruinestagehouse]

Here's a bit of a PSA, it's not okay to completely rip off a character from another artist and then display it as completely yours.

I'm genuinely peeved with the amount of times I see this occur, and it just happened to a friend of mine with (one of) the main characters of her story. She's a decently popular artist, with actual books written regarding her characters. The individual in question follows her, so this was not a case of similar designs (which can happen and is not what I'm talking about at present. To clarify, sometimes two unrelated person's will make similar characters due to similar tastes and influence. This is not a post about those people, they've done nothing wrong.)

If you really like a characters design, then yes, be inspired by it! Saints only know I get inspired by my friends all the time. Ruin's long white hair? Inspired by both @/ghost-plasm's Sona and Redbalence's Celeste Superbia whilst the front hair bits were inspired by Josei-Ki's character Underella. The open jacket and visible abs was inspired by just about every bloody character @/synthena draws, and also partially because her tastes rubbed off on me. The clothing colors are simply my favorite colors, whilst the spirals in his eyes are something I thought was neat based upon the eye patterns found in common character creators which I will continue to shamelessly screw with for fun, even if nothing comes of the characters I make. The long black nails were inspired by, again, Redbalence's character Celeste Superbia who likely gives nail salons a nightmare and a half. It's, also just because I'm a sad goth who would actually wear long black claws if I could swing it at my job. I cannot. I work in maintenance, and it would be the death of me to fix things with nails like that.

The point is, you can be inspired. Be inspired by as many people as you want, in fact, be inspired by any artist you think is neat! Have a diverse pool of inspiration to draw from, I promise you it will help in the development of more diverse characters while you learn and grow.

The issue here is when the entire design of a character, including story elements, is lifted. Changing the characters hair and eye colors is not making a whole new character, and it's plainly disrespectful to the artist to completely copy them and then act as though it is yours.

Yes, when we begin drawing, sometimes we make crummy knock-off characters. We may draw characters that already exist and say they're ours. If you think we're here to shun those kids, bugger off. Everyone did that as a child, and if you think it's okay to harass little Tommy over his Wholly-Original-Superman-Tommyman-Protector-of-Gotham then piss off.

We're taking about the teens and young adults with art skills so bloody advanced that they're at times, on par with the artist they're copying, waltzing in and stealing a character wholesale only to move a few color sliders over and claim it as theirs. That isn't okay, and I don't understand why people think it is.

If you want to draw that character to practice art fundamentals, go for it. The issue comes in when you draw them, and then claim they're yours. Yes, I get that it is art taboo to compare characters, we find it discouraging and rightfully so, but that does not mean we should avoid calling out blatant artistic plagerism.

If you have two drawings, one of your character and one of the character you ripped off to make that character, and they look exactly the bloody same? Then there is a problem you need to sort, because while saying "I think your character is too similar to X" may feel discouraging, how do you think the artist they stole from feels when you say the copycats OC is "fantastic" and "well designed"?

Particularly when you follow the artist that was stolen from.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1256

Monday April 1, 2019

 Call me an April fool. I thought that the pure joy of comic book collecting was going the way of the Dodo bird but judging from the attendance of yesterday's Capital Comic Book Convention I'm glad to say I am mistaken. No celebrities. No cosplay. No special events. Just a room full of vendors who also love the hobby and collectors looking for unique and fun comics. I want to thank my partner Chris for all his hard work. He made Jee-Riz's booth a standout in the room. "You don't see this sort of stuff very often" was heard more than once.

 Archie #703 - Nick Spencer (writer) Sandy Jarrell (artist) Matt Herms (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). So much going on. We find out who attacks Jughead in the woods and why. I want to be a roadie for Josey and the Pussycats. Betty and Veronica enlists the aid of Cheryl Blossom to ferret out if Archie has a new girlfriend. As long as it's not Betty I'm not jealous of the ginger bonehead.

 Avengers #17/LGY #707 - Jason Aaron (writer) David Marquez (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This issue has some of the cheesiest dialogue I have ever read. I really hope that the Vampire War is over. This Avengers team is a bit too goody two shoes for me.

 Batman #67 - Tom King (writer) Lee Weeks & Jorge Fornes (art) Lovern Kindzierski (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Knightmares part 5. Batman's in his Batman: Year One costume chasing a masked killer. You'll feel like you're watching a Roadrunner cartoon. The guy in the mask is William Ernest Coyote. You're in for a shock when Batman unmasks him.

 Savage Sword of Conan #3 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Ron Garney (art) Richard Isanove (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Conan is captured by the evil wizard Koga Thun but manages to escape to continue his search for treasure. It looks like he's got to fight zombies to get to the treasure. I got all excited when I saw the cover showing Conan fighting alongside Belit but nothing like that happens at all inside. I'm not reading any more of these. I don't like being played for a sucker.

 Immortal Hulk #15 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I love this couch session with Doc Samson and the Hulk, sans couch. The two talk it out after a sniper shoots Betty and the Hulk. Some of the stuff they talk about is quite insightful. You think they're trying to find Betty but they're not. Their final destination is a surprise.

 Thor #11 - Jason Aaron (writer) Lee Garbett (art) Antonio Fabela (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Thor goes looking for his best friend thinking he's going to need all the help he can get in the coming War of the Realms. The Lady Freyja has to make her son stop his foolish search. I like the little snippets showing characters we haven't seen in a while and I can't wait to see what their roles are in the war. Get ready true believers, Malekith is about to invade Midgard.

 Avengers LGY #714: No Road Home #7 - Jim Zub, Mark Waid & Al Ewing (writers) Paco Medina (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This issue features Monica Rambeau/Spectrum. Who better to fight the Queen of Darkness than a being of light. The last page made up for the disappointment I felt reading Savage Sword of Conan #3.

 Heroes in Crisis #7 - Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (art pages 1-6, 11, 17,-19, 23-24) Travis Moore (art pages 8-10, 13, 14-16, 20-21) Jorge Fornes (art pages 7, 12, 22) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). You could read this one issue and it wouldn't make a lick of sense unless you've read the previous 6. I even had a hard time understanding what's going on and I've read every issue. I think the only reason I'm going to read the last two issues is to find out if anything makes sense in the end.

 Hulkverines #2 - Greg Pak (writer) Guiu Vilanova (art) Morry Hollowell with Chris Sotomayor (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). We go from Hulkverine, the Hulk and Wolverine fighting each other to the three of them teaming up. Meanwhile the Leader and Doctor Alba, who created Hulkverine, do the super villain equivalent of what the three super heroes did. The result is going to be very interesting. This is the first I've seen of Guiu Vilanova's art and I think it's great.

 Ironheart #4 - Eve L. Ewing (writer) Luciano Vecchio (art) Geoffo (layouts) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). It's a rematch with Midnight's Fire. This new super villain reminds me of Miles's uncle Aaron AKA the Prowler. I hope there isn't too much overlap between these two young super heroes, otherwise I will get bored with one of them.

 The Avant-Guards #3 - Carly Usdin (writer) Noah Hayes (art) Rebecca Nalty (colours) Ed Dukeshire (letters). The team has their first practice and play their first game. Major points to Noah for showing the players following through on their shots. I used to love playing basketball but never made my high school team. So I ended up managing both junior and senior teams and got to practice with them. I would love to find someone my own age to shoot some hoops with right now.

 Black Widow #3 - Jen & Sylvia Soska (writers) Flaviano (art) Veronica Gandini (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Natasha's mission to shut down an online pay-per-view torture site goes horribly wrong. I can't wait to see how she gets out of this predicament.

 Sabrina the teenage witch #1 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Veronica Fish & Andy Fish (art) Jack Morelli (letters). This new comic book is more like the TV show than the gritty ghoulish title that was on the racks a while ago. I liked the old show but haven't seen the new one. I had a crush on Melissa Joan Hart. I really like the writing and art in this so it's going on my "must read" list.

 Dial H for Hero #1 - Sam Humphries (writer) Joe Quinones (art) Dave Sharpe (letters). I mainly bought Marvel comics when I got more spending money and could afford new comic books but I did buy this DC title because I liked the concept. Robby Reed was this nerdy kid who finds a rotary telephone dial that changed him into a different super hero whenever he dialled H-E-R-O. he always had different powers and a different costume. This updated version has a kid named Miguel who is an adrenaline junky. An old timey telephone, the whole thing with handset this time, appears before him as he's plummeting towards certain death and he changes into Monster Truck. The Monster Truck pages are quite Kirbyesque. Throw in a page with Damian/ Robin, Lobo, Snapper Carr, Angel and the Ape, Harley Quinn and Alfred and I am hooked. I liked the town troublemaker Summer too. I am looking forward to seeing their further adventures.

 Doctor Strange #12 - Mark Waid (writer) Barry Kitson (pencils) Scott Koblish (inks) Brian Reber (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Herald Supreme part 1. Stephen Strange is bored but he won't be for long. An alien from a warrior race of mystics comes to Earth to ask Doctor Strange how he defeated Galactus. I guess there's no Marvel comics where this guy is from. Seems the world eater is fixing to eat his planet. The super aggressive Zoloz manages to steal all of Doc Strange's mystical power and banishes Galactus in the Mystic Realms. Read this issue to find out why that's a bad idea. Now it's up to Stephen to keep the big purple planet eater from feeding and destroying our universe too.

 Action Comics #1009 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Steve Epting (art) Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Leviathan Rising part 3. Lois is pissed at Amanda Waller but she reigns in her anger to come up with a plan to find out what Leviathan is. We get to see what Gold Kryptonite does, which is kind of cool. It's fun when something new gets added to a story. Superman's transformation surprised me.

 Sharkey the bounty hunter #2 - Mark Millar (writer) Simone Bianchi (art & colours) Peter Doherty (letters). This one's a fun space romp. The hunter finds his prey but she's not going to come along quietly.

 The Superior Spider-Man #4 - Christos Gage (writer) Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I hope this change is permanent but it's going to take some getting used to calling Otto but his new identity Elliot. I like how Anna Maria is the woman behind the man. She teaches him a lesson in humility in this issue. Now I have a craving for Polish sausage.

 Shazam #4 - Geoff Johns (writer) Dale Eaglesham & Marco Santucci (art) Mike Atiyeh (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Yay, my wish came true. We meet Tawky Tawny the tiger in the first 6 pages. This version is quite dapper. The kids get separated with two in the Wildlands, two in the Gamelands and Mary and Billy in the Funlands, contrary to what the cover shows. Who's going to rescue the Marvel Family? The last page will enlighten you. I'm not excited about the movie hitting theatres on April 5 but if it's as good as this comic book, I might go see it.

 Fantastic Four #8 - Dan Slott (writer) Aaron Kuder, Stefano Caselli, David Marquez & Reilly Brown (art) Matt Yackey (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Did someone forget to tell cover artist Esad Ribic that Victorious was female? Doctor Doom has captured both Galactus and the Fantastic Four. He's siphoning off the former's cosmic power and is going to execute the latter. Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny are sure in a pickle. I can't wait to see how they get out of it.

 The Amazing Spider-Man #18 - Nick Spencer (writer) Humberto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado & Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Hunted part 2. There's a spectre of danger hovering over Mary Jane in the side story. That's always a good plot twist to keep a Spider-Man fan hooked.

 Daredevil #3 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Marco Checchetto (art) Sunny Gho (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Know Fear part 3. Daredevil's been shot and is about to be arrested for murder. Detective Cole North aims to bring the suspect in no matter what it takes. I wonder if Canadian Chip Zdarsky picked that name as an inside joke? Just when the "tough-as-nails" ex-Chicago cop is about to succeed, Daredevil is rescued. I chuckled when I saw who it was, and it's not Man-Thing.

 Detective Comics #1000 - Is this worth $9.99 US? You bet your sweet bippy it is. I might even buy one for myself, but which cover to pick? Here are the choices.

 Main cover by Jim Lee (pencils) Scott Williams (inks) & Alex Sinclair (colours)

1930s by Steve Rude (art)

1940s by Bruce Timm (art)

1950s by Michael Cho (art)

1960s by Jim Steranko (art)

1970s by Bernie Wrightson (art) & Alex Sinclair (colours)

1980s by Frank Miller (art) & Alex Sinclair (colours)

1990s by Tim Sale (art) & Brennan Wagner (colours)

2000s by Jock (art)

2010s by Greg Capullo (art) & FCO Plascencia (colours)

 We get 3 pin-ups by:

Mikel Janin (art)

Jason Fabok (art) & Brad Anderson (colours)

Amanda Conner (art) & Paul Mounts (colours)

 Then there's all the terrific stories inside that not only shows Batman as a crime fighter but more importantly for this title as a consummate crime solver. You will find all of Batman's family and rogues gallery in here. I loved how this issue was a feast for the eyes too. I'm just going to list the titles of the stories and their creative teams. If you don't buy a copy for your comic book collection then you're missing out on what will be a classic. With a line up like this you can't lose.

 Longest Case by Scott Snyder (writer) Greg Capullo (pencils) Jonathan Glapion (inks) FCO Plascencia (colours) & Tom Napolitano (letters).

Manufacture for Use by Kevin Smith (writer) Jim Lee (pencils) Scott Williams (inks) & Alex Sinclair (colours) & Todd Klein (letters).

The Legend of Knute Brody by Paul Dini (writer) Dustin Nguyen (pencils) Derek Fridolfs (inks) John Kalisz (colours) & Steve Wands (letters).

The Batman's Design by Warren Ellis (writer) Becky Cloonan (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) & Simon Bowland (letters).

Return to Crime Alley by Denny O'Neil (writer) Steve Epting (art) Elizabeth Breitweiser (colours) & AndWorld Design (letters).

Heretic by Christopher Priest (writer) Neal Adams (art) Dave Stewart (colours) & Willie Schubert (letters).

I Know by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Alex Maleev (art & colours) & Josh Reed (letters).

The Last Crime in Gotham by Geoff Johns (writer) Kelley Jones (art) Michelle Madsen (colours) Rob Leigh (letters).

The Precedent by James Tynion IV (writer) Alvaro Martinez-Bueno (pencils) Raul Fernandez (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) & Sal Cipriano (letters).

Batman's Greatest Case by Tom King (writer) Tony S. Daniel & Joelle Jones (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) & Clayton Cowles (letters).

And finally Medieval by Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Doug Mahnke (pencils) Jaime Mendoza & Doug Mahnke (inks) David Baron (colours) & Rob Leigh (letters).

 That last story introduces a new (at least to me) Gotham City crime fighter named the Arkham Knight. His story continues in Detective Comics #1001 and I'm going to snag that issue off the racks to find out who he is.

[pa0231rianmcdaid]

Lecture Notes - The master list (Philip Parker)

“When we build a story, every character in that story has a story.” For example, Star Wars. Every character has a story. Luke’s story is brought to the front.

The Master List -

1. The Romance

Someone is seen as a solution to their lack. 

They yearn to be united with their object of desire.

Two protagonists.

“Every Romance is from two perspectives.” 

- E.g. Moulin Rouge

2. The Unrecognised Virtue

A protagonist with a virtue becomes part of someone else's world.

The protagonist falls in love with a powerful character in this world.

The protagonists seeks to prove themselves desirable to this character.

“Their attention is what validates them.” 

- E.g. Cinderella, Legally Blonde, Taxi Driver (“He rescues a princess”)

3.  The Fatal Flaw

The protagonist has a special quality that makes them successful above others.

This special quality causes damage to others ostracising them from the people they love and the things they originally valued.

Usually the protagonist tries to change their ways.

The protagonist is destroyed by forces they set in motion.

“They are all suffering from a fatal dose of pride”

- E.g. Saturday Night Fever, Batman, Spider-man, Superman, Shakespeare

4. The Spider and The Fly

A protagonist wishes to make another character do their bidding but has no power over them. 

The protagonist traps the other character into a plan to do their bidding.

E.g. - The Postman Always Rings Twice, Cruel Intentions, Dangerous Liaisons.

5. The Quest

A protagonist is set a task to find someone/something. 

The narrative involves the search for that something. 

- E.g. Silence of The Lambs, Finding Dory, Harry Potter, Pirates of The Caribbean, cop/detective shows, 

“They are always searching for something”

6. The Rites of Passage

The protagonist is aware of the next stage of their life and the need for knowledge to progress there.

The protagonist searches for the knowledge. (Star wars, Luke)

The protagonist acts as if they already have the knowledge and fail.

The protagonist’s failure then leads them toward personal insight and the passing onto the next stage.

E.g. Top Gun

7. The Gift Taken Away

The protagonist is seen to have a gift which they promptly lose. 

The protagonist seeks to regain this gift often reconciling a new life in the process.

“It’s often their freedom and not an actual thing”

E.g The Exorcist (All of the characters have a gift taken away), Cast away, Terminal, Spider-man 2.

8. The Wanderer 

A protagonist arrives in a new place and faces a problem. 

In tackling the problem, they comes to terms with the reasons they left the last place.

“The wanderer usually falls in the roll of protecting something”

E.g. The Outlaw Josey Wales

9. The Character Who Can Not Be Put Down

A protagonist is set against insurmountable odds and antagonistic forces.

The protagonist defeats the antagonistic forces.

E.g. James Bond, Forrest Gump, Taken, Rambo.

10. The Debt That Must Be Repaid

The protagonist wants something and strikes a bargain to get what they want.

The protagonist then avoids paying the debt/can’t pay the debt and looks for a way out of it.

E.g. Faust.

[faithful-grigori]

”#I’m kidding except im also sort of not, #what if Superman was a Josei”

i know why they had to put it on Adult Swim