#because yeah….I’m just some person who’s read a lot of Moon Knight comics | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

prettywarriors · 3 years

Text

Fate The Winx Commentary

Good morning internet! Today is the drop of Winx: Riverdale edition! I sure hope you're ready for my aggressive and unnecessary commentary, because it is coming for you either way!

The netflix landing page lets us know:

Fate The Winx Saga

6 episodes, 48-53 minutes each

"Genres: Fantasy TV Shows, Teen TV Shows, Italian TV Shows"

"This show is: Emotional"

As mentioned elsewhere, my Winx knowledge is limited, so I will be coming into this fairly fresh and will try to be unbiased. As I have seen trailers, the keyword here is Try.

Episode 1

'To the Waters and the Wild'

CW: Animal Death, Swears, Implied Child Death, Blood, Implied Teen Sex, Burns, Weed, Fatphobia, Whatever the term pussie falls under

Episode 1 TL;DR: We meet everyone, learn their dynamics, have the basics of the magic system beat into us, meet our monsters, and name drop Harry Potter. Standard first episode stuff.

I do want it on record before we start that I got about halfway into the first season of Riverdale, and the first season of Netflix Sabrina. They were, well, bland and boring imo? I did get through a few seasons of Teen Wolf, but that's because it was capable of Fun and Jokes. My current expectations are a few unintentionally funny lines, maybe some almost decent magic effects, and because it's 2021, one whole gay character (I did hear one of the boys (there are boys?) is bi, but also an asshole so I'm hoping for some wlw)

TV-MA LANGUAGE AND SMOKING OH FUCKING BOY Almost full moon (waxing) in opening shot- I Will be tracking moon inconsistencies if it keeps showing up that is a pet peeve but hey look a bunch of sheep That's a good start (it's ominous though. don't hurt the sheep) Swears count: Feckin' 2 Mystical portal barrier. Oh yeah s5 of the magicians is on netflix now WELP THOSE ARE SHEEP GUTS RIGHT OUT THE GATE HUH For CW it's up a tree, and the dripping blood is a good warning of what's about to be seen :( oh and then the man who was looking for the sheep dies offscreen save for a spray of blood. THIS ISN'T YOUR CHILD'S WINX CLUB it seems to say. I assume. How much blood was in the original winx because this is already at least a full cup. (Also the monster noises for whatever was chasing the man (werewolf it was a werewolf trailers are bad guys) were not very good)

Opening credit scene is 5-6 different blooming elemental wings. They're pretty, but it's unclear if the last one is secret 6th member wings (because the second to last ones are fire which is the main character's element right?) so maybe we'll get a late 6th addition? (I am in I.T. please give me the most relatable character you cowards)

KIDS IN THE CORNER BY AMBER VAN DAY PLAYING I like where they shot this but that might just be european woods pretty. The opening location was nice and mossy save for the sheep blood Fancy big stone school establishing shots (it's nice, and huge) and we land on a red head who seems less than pleased to be here Courtyard shot of... whatever the name of the replacment plant girl is, holding a tray of various potted plants for an older man (father? first day of school send off maybe?) Aisha(?) walks by, not talking to anyone, Stella(?) is taking Magical!Selfies with at least 3 other girls, Musa(?) has a suitcase and headphones and smiles at a passing girl Oh boy a boy with a pocketknife doing little tricks with it! Nothing says edgy like an actual knife edge. Gonna take this moment to point out I have some level of face blindness and while the girls all look fairly different from one another, if there is more than one tall blonde white boy as I fear there may be, I WILL NOT be able to tell them apart. Not through maliciousness, just general incompetence, so anything I say about the boy characters (I want to say they're the knights to the girl's faeries? is that right? this whole thing smacks of gender) should be taken with a heap of salt I've come to accept tv just. displaying text messages on screen as a storytelling method. It's never my favorite but it just Is a modern story element. Also Bloom needs to meet stella at the alfea gates Alfea I presume is the school- does the name mean something? It sure feels like the word elf and therefore fae but I don't feel like googling anything this early in Oh look two more blondish tall white boys. Pocketknife was wearing something else i think, one guy has a brown jacket and pink shirt (bad combo), the other looks old even by tv highschool/college standards and his jacket has a jock vibe. Jock jacket also has an earring? Is this the bi character who is an asshole? From this one second of him, only in profile, I will assume yes, he is an asshole I like Bloom's backpack Pink shirt looks at Bloom from across the quad. I am already tired of this romance Cool he walks up to someone he has identified as lost, and is 'impressed with [her] confidence in the face of complete ignorance' COMING OUT OF THE GATE WITH A NEGG HUH PINKY He even states he wasn't offering help Then Why Are You Talking To Her Jackass Subs are going with the fairy spelling, and Bloom confirms she is a fairy and we confirm this is College. Unless this is a european thing where they call schools different things. I think that's just for public and private? And maybe just england? I'm American all they teach us is 1492-ww1 over and over for like. 10 years sorry Rest of the World 'What Realm are you from?' 'California' Speaking of ameri-centric, I'm gonna Guess that original Winx, the italian cartoon, didn't have their main character be from cali usa? I am presuming this is a side effect of making this property for a more global distribution than I'm guessing winx was originally conceived as back in the early 00s The Otherworld. I assume this is the fairy realm and whatnot? And the magic school. Seems to be located behind a magical barrier in the earth realm?? If that's right it seems weird if basically everyone who goes to the school is from the otherworld Pinky doubles down on his rudeness but in a Fun and Cute way because :/ and the Specialist hall is Very Pretty, oh and there's a fairy hall. Are specialists the boy...things? magi knights? bros of the blade? guys who wear those 'here come a special boy' sneakers from that one comic? Stella sees this conversation which is great because they drop the term mansplain. why would otherworlders know that term even??? Edgey(?) sees Pinky and they hug it out Stella knows Americans are the type to wander off so I guess there's a lot of inter-world connections?

Miss Dowling- is this teacher going to be like the pedo in riverdale who got *checks notes* killed off by one of multiple serial killers later on? Dowling is the headmistress, gotta keep the otherworld a secret from earthers, time and place for portal making. all standard fantasy stuff so far, nothing to make this stand out Stella has a gateway ring, and frankly isn't too nice? all the backgrounders clothing is Bland and very normal 7 realms of the otherworld, Solaria is where Alfea is, i like magic globe Incase you forgot this was a modern tale, people update their insta stories here. 'I was kindof bummed I didn't see a single pair of wings' YOU AND ME BOTH BLOOM 'We had wings in the past, transformation was lost, tinkerbell was an air fairy' This is either a cop out for your glittery cowardice, or a set up for the main girls re-finding transformation magic later. I did like the Tink bit Bloom is a fire fairy and the subtext of this conversation is that bloom's magic did Something bad. I hope it was burn down her old school's gym a la buffy movie I like miss Dowling but in the I wouldn't Be Surprised if you turned out to be Evil way, and I guess Alfea is a very privileged upper crust school. What types of college do normal fairies go to then huh? damn privileged fairies 'our students have gone on to do amazing things like re-discover long lost magics' We Get It. You will give me Wings, but Only If I'm Patient Dowling throws a jab at Bloom about power control, but I like her necklace so It's Fine

Bloom video calls her parents while unpacking in the dorm, which may have come pre-fit with a heck ton of board games? Love it. Or new plant girl brought them along with her many plants Stella has a fancy mirror and lots of jewelry and fashion photos and makeup, Musa has a laptop and apparently not much else, gotta get those establishing personalities down I guess 'Ladies of the Flies honey don't be sexist' Bloom's dad for feminist of the year (these jokes are bad but i guess we can call it a dad joke as justification) Asiha gives Bloom a look and saves her from the call with her parents- yay friendship step one achieved Blooms parents think she's in the alps because magic secrets and what not Aisha asks bloom if she's never read harry potter and I guess Bloom is a potterhead (that's the term right?). Is this self awareness that all magical school fantasy series have the same basic bricks? Bloom is a ravenclaw sometimes slytherin, Aisha is a Gryffindor Stella is changing because she's the fashion one and has a fun pastel rainbow skirt, and uses magic to make a real aggressive lamp. She's also a mentor (maybe older than the others by a bit?) I am assuming Stella here is something along the lines of a diplomats daughter the way she talks about appearances. She better get down and dirty later on to show her growth about how some things are more important than looks yada yada Fairy magic powered by strong emotions, i am waiting for bloom's backstory to be movie x-men rogue style tragedy Terra! Which. Of course is the Plant Fairy's name. Stella is a little mean to her about the plants and she takes it with a smile and some subtle snark back using classic literature Oh that's fun Terra points out the name-plant thing, and name drops her cousin Flora. That's. The one they replaced with Terra right? Terra's dad works in the greenhouse at the school which explains earlier (and her mum is named rose) Stella is indeed a second year and Musa's eyes change for. Lie detecting magic? and loves her headphones (Overstimulation?) Aisha wants somewhere to swim and we cut to a 'pond' by specialist training. Assuming she wants to sim because she's a water fairy, why Don't they have a pool? also this pond looks. Unpleasant for swimming

Girl specialist! Does that mean we have boy fairies? Boys. Fighting. Talking about girls. All gingers are nuts. Thanks edgelord AMAZING SHAGS THOUGH 'I didn't realize your hand was a red-head' it's not truly edge if we don't talk about sex every 10 minutes Subtitles earlier only said boy 1 boy 2 but now pinky or edgy is Riv Edgy smokes weed, and pinky is a big brother figure to him, and the head? of the special boys doesn't like edgy. Me neither older guy Bit of swordplay, more girls, every specialist has black training outfits, very military Pinky is Sky who is son of Guy of Place. an important lad. without context this is meaningless to me There's a giggly boy who laughs at the idea of a war in the future and gets a talking to. I suspect this boy will be re-occurring enough to die- he has those tertiary character elements with his intro and such (and he's black so I am prepared for your standard racist murder choices) Burned Ones exist outside the barrier, which makes me wonder if dead shepard was in the otherworld? There was nothing establishing that he was in any type of Other place but :/ Oh look edgey is having a smoke cross the barrier while we learn about the creatures that live beyond it. Time to find out these creatures no one young has ever seen are still kicking Specialist leader had to kill his own pa after a burned one got him. They also. Used a shotgun when trying to fight it. Do specialists even have powers or are they just good with weapons? Edgey finds the shepards corpse. Mostly blood 'it's been 16 years since the last sighting' 'Rosalind killed all the burned ones' ahh magical creature genocide hey when is abarat 4 coming out. and is rosalind hot?

School, gossip, Aisha and Musa are snarking at Tera for thinking the guy died of natural causes because we need to have these characters not actually like each other to make it stand out when they do Aisha talks about how she eats a lot and if she didn't swim she'd be massive and we cut to the plus sized tera looking uncomfortable are we really doing this? Tera points out that Musa was ignoring her earlier and it's all just uncomfortable and not great character conflict (but I thought I saw Musa holding an honest to god ipod? it's blue but it could be a phone case. Her hand is in the way) tera and dad interaction is nice, i'm also convinced they couldn't afford more than 3 magic adults

Girl with braids and metal in her hair! There were witches in winx right? Like 3 minor antagonist girls? I assume this is one of them. Because she has alternative fashion and is therefore evil /s Beatrix. Names in this series leave something to be desired (that something is subtly. I get it, they're carry overs from a series for a younger audience, she-ra had the same issue, but i can still poke fun) Swear count: Arsehole 2 Bollocks 1 Shit 1 She's a weird ass kissing with clearly ulterior motives

Bloom is Studying and her notebook is just FAIRY MAGIC POWER = EMOTIONS LOVE FEAR? HARTED? FIRE FAIRY CONTROL? in case you weren't paying attention Oh a flashback already to the magic triggering event? Her mother had pointed out she's an introvert, and past!Bloom doesn't Party. She goes Antiquing and is a Weird Loner (her 'basic bitch' of a mom's words) Swear count: Bitch 1 Bad daughter count: 1 Bad mother count: 1 Magic glowy eyes for Bloom: 1

Bloom Hates Parties and asks Pinky I mean Sky where she can be Away from People and he fears he'll be Mansplaing to her to. vague that it's dangerous outside instead of saying 'hey there's monsters and someone was just killed by possible one of them stay in the barrier' Stella wants to talk to Sky because they have History. I did hear there was a love triangle between these three. I am bored and everyone at this party is a nosey bitch who is watching their tense conversation. Also Something? Happens when Stella gets upset [mystical warbling] Random magic effects in the (very pretty) forest Bloom is trying to practice her magic on her own, and to do that she's gotta look at sad teen pics. And look, her burnt bedroom from her first power usage The fire magic is pretty good. I think fire is like. the opposite of water when it comes to cg where it almost always looks pretty good, while I swear i've seen the actual ocean look like a shitty render Magic out of control, bloom can't control her emotions, Aisha can stop her with water magic which makes some nice steam Bloom is angry at aisha for saving her. So far 3 of the 5 girls are abrasive at best remember when people made characters likeable? Swear count: Shit 1 (but it doubles as the literal meaning because of flooded toilets) Swear count: Bitch 1 Ass 1 Taking away your teen's door is. Really shitty. Not almost burn down your house worthy but damn cheerleader mom I do not understand sleep shirts with buttons. That seems painful if you lie the wrong way? Her mom was seriously burnt by first magic usage that's a backstory Shit count +1 Main character aspect time: dormant fairy blood line? awfully strong magic for that. baby who died day after it was born and now she's here? ...I was going to say changeling thanks aisha A Barbaric practice loving hints at long term world lore Hell is a bad word for kids!! Cutting to headmistress and her secret passage after finding out bloom is secret pureblood? this really is a harry potter thing

edgelord offers giggly some booze, and says pussies twice because he's Edgey and does peer pressure Tera calls him out and knows he's a sad nerd in disguise not a 'badass' and he says she's 'three people in disguise' because fatphobia shit +1 arehole +1 tera. chokes out edgelord with a vine because she's had enough of this shit. good for her edgelord is Riv, and he lived

OBLIGATORY GOOGLE SEARCH FOR THE TERM CHANGELING REMEMBER BELLA'S VAMPIRE GOOGLE GOD I LOVE TEEN FANTASY AND THEIR INSTANCE ON GOOGLING COMMON FANTASY TERMS OH hey the lamp bloom brought with her is the one she was fixing at home that's a nice touch Stella bonds with Bloom about homesickness, and the takes a selfie Musa is a mind fairy. So she. Is a telepath with purple eye magic? Oh there's types of 'connections' Memory, thought (others but i am cut off from the lore) Stella did Something to someone who Talked To Her Man last year and now lent Bloom her teleportation ring to send her some because miss mentor really cares more about her shitty man then helping the girls she's in charge of First World- earth Old Cemetery? Very Sexy. and bloom sweetie don't leave a mystical gateway open, and how will you explain to your parents how you're back so fast Wait she's only 16? SO this really is some european college where that's a funny way of saying High School Fire guilt, bad feelings about life shattering revelations, better connection with mother. I gotta say I have low expectations of this show carrying the family connection through the rest of this. That conversation felt more like a Hey We Made These Movements Onto Other Stuff Now

Lighting choices are interesting, with green, orange and purple for creepy warehouse. THE Creepy Warehouse where she would sleep without her parent's knowledge wow right that GIRL DROPS THE DAMN RING AT THE FIRST SIGN OF burned one looked more alien than werewolf-y here Decent Horror movie looks, and dude stole her ring. Rude. Saved by the headmistress, and tera/aisha/musa are here to great her Stella can't be here though because she has to greet a half naked freshly showered sky because life is suffering and producers insist people like to see teens half naked (who. Who?) shit +1 and she dumped him. pity part of one and using it to try to get your bone on. HEY A SONG I KNOW. IT'S WHATSITCALLED FROM THE BAYONETTA COMMERCIALS WAY BACK WHEN. in for the kill la roux. I do wish netflix would either commit to telling you what song was playing or didn't tell you at all

Riv offers Beatrix a hit from his joint because what Is a Bad Kid hasn't changed in like 70 years Blowing pot smoke into someone's mouth isn't as sexy as ya'll seem to think it is Musa has cute sleep socks with little pom poms, and I love Tera's floral jammies Tera offers a bluetooth speaker so they can listen to music together Musa also calls out Tera's fake happiness this is the good shit character interaction i live for Musa Empath Mind Fairy 'somber indie music'

If you kill a burned one in the human world Something? Extra bad happens? So the headmistress knows Bloom's a changeling, and ohhh that's the last time a burned one was spotted. Is Rosalind the famed Monster Slayer the birth mother of Bloom? Tera text flirts with Giggly who IS NAMED DANE and has a thing for. Sky? Riv? I told you these boys all look the same to me so if it's a half naked pic on fairy insta i'm out of context clues. Crymeariv is the insta name that answers that. Is this the slow burn enemies to lover mlm i can't finish this sentence i don't care riv is a dick Stella and Sky are in a bed and she doesn't seem to have a top on so Implied sexy times? MYSTERIOUS HOODED AND ROBED FIGURE CROSSES THROUGH THE BARRIAR AND SHOOTS THE BURNED ONE WITH LIGHTNING MAGIC OH IT'S beatrix

alt-J – Adeline as an ending song

#fate the winx saga #text #commentary #hey tumblr thanks for deleting all my text because I resized this window #we're off to a great start #fate episode 1

37 notes · View notes

duhragonball · 3 years

Text

Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 45-50

This is the “Soldier of Fortune” arc. I thought there was a song by this title and there is! Give it a listen.

youtube

This opens with a flashback to Pip Bernadotte’s childhood, where he finds out his whole family is a bunch of mercenaries. His grandfather confirms it, and I should point out that Grandpa Bernadotte is the most mercenary-looking dude I’ve ever seen. He’s wearing a friggin’ beret while he tells Pip about how his dad died in some war to raise money while Ma Bernadotte was pregnant with Pip. Was Pip’s mother a merc too?

I guess my point is that this whole scene feels really stupid to me. Kid Pip grew up among mercenaries, but he’s literally the last person in town to find out about it. How do the kids at school know? Are the Bernadottes that well-known? I always assumed mercenaries tried to keep a low profile. Then again, they are entrepreneurs, so maybe the kids in school found ads about the Bernadottes in the phone book.

Even so, was Pip’s family trying to keep this a secret from him? Because Grandpa sure wasn’t. Not with that beret he’s got on. It’s like he’s been waiting Pip’s whole life to tell him, so why didn’t he mention it before? You’d think he’d want to raise the boy to follow in his footsteps, the same as Pip’s dad. Did Pip’s mom not want him to grow up to be a mercenary? It just seems like she should have known that wouldn’t work out.

Anyway, Grandpa Bernadotte waxes philosophical about killing people for money, which doesn’t seem like much of a justification. Pip was very upset about the whole thing, and I don’t think Grandpa said anything to make him less upset, and then we flash forward to the present day, where Pip’s a mercenary.

I mean, what was the point of that flashback? Pip was horrified to find out his family kills for profit, and then at some point he got over it and joined the family business. Why didn’t the flashback show us that moment instead? It seems more relevant.

At any rate, I feel like the flashback is overlooking the true point of Pip’s character arc. He starts out a soldier of fortune like his father and grandfather, but by joining up with Hellsing he’s now fighting for a much nobler cause, ridding the world of unspeakably evil monsters. He still seems to look at it like just another job, but it’s still important. His defense of the Hellsing mansion is a lot more heroic because he’s fighting against daunting odds with very little hope of surviving to see another sunrise, let alone his next paycheck.

Back to the main story, when Millennium’s forces invaded London, they sent a company to the Hellsing HQ on the outskirts of the city. Zorin Blitz was tasked with leading this group, but she was ordered to hold off on attacking until the Major gave the word. The Major then fired rockets at the mansion, only for Seras Victoria to shoot the rockets down... and Zorin’s zeppelin. Now, Zorin is trying to lead a ground attack on the mansion, except Pip has turned the entire yard into a minefield.

Seras disapproves, but Pip doesn’t care. In this sort of conflict, he and his men, the Wild Geese, are at a complete disadvantage. Vampires, even the weaker, artificial vampires of Millennium, are faster, stronger, and harder to kill. He hints at some sort of vampiric ability to read an opponent’s movements, too, which might have something to do with that whole “third eye” trick Seras and Alucard use. Against all of that, landmines are a sensible precaution, since they’re powerful enough to kill a vampire in one shot and don’t rely on a human operator with killing intent. Seras can gripe, but if Hellsing had used mines back in volume 2, the Valentine Brothers never would have made it inside. Pip clearly read up on that debacle, since it must have taken weeks for his men to bury all these mines.

The landmines do kill a lot of Zorin’s troops, and the Wild Geese lay down heavy fire from the mansion to keep up the pressure, but Zorin won’t give up so easily. She uses he powers to create some sort of zany illusion, where everyone sees a giant Zorin Blitz attacking the mansion.

So what the hell is Zorin Blitz, exactly? I thought she was a vampire, but reading this manga has revealed that Rip Van WInkle is a werewolf, which led me to suspect Zorin is a werewolf too. But the manga is silent on Zorin being one or the other. I check the Hellsing Wiki, but it contends that both women are vampires, and the term “Werewolf” just refers to the group of officers in Millennium. This group includes literal werewolves like the Captain and Schrodinger, but not Blitz and Rip.

Maybe it doesn’t matter that much, but I find it a little silly to call all four of those characters “Werewolves” and then only two of them are really werewolves. Clearly, all four of them are a cut above the Major’s other troops, and none of them show any interest in drinking blood, or any other vampire-exclusive traits. On the other hand, this whole battle takes place under a full moon, and none of them seem to be affected by it. Unless the Major chose this particular night to launch his offensive because he wanted them all to be at full power. Maybe Zorin couldn’t do this illusion thing otherwise.

Anyway, the Wild Geese see this giant woman slashing at them with a scythe, and they all panic. Seras sees it too, but she somehow intuits that it can’t be real. Then she sees Alucard, who reminds her of her third eye. I’m not sure if this is a flashback or Alucard is using telepathy to coach her from the deck of the H.M.S. Eagle.

Either way, Seras uses her third eye and not only sees through the illusion but lines up a shot on the illusion-caster. But it only grazes Zorin. It disrupts the illusion, but it doesn’t end the threat.

And even though the illusion is shattered, it still distracted the Wild Geese long enough for Millennium troops to enter the mansion. Seras manages to shoot them down, but there’s more where that came from.

Because the Nazi bastards figured out a way past the mines. They just threw a bunch of knives on the ground and played hopscotch to get across. I guess this means they can only get in one at a time, but it’s still bad news for the good guys.

So Pip adjusts his tactics accordingly. He and his men will regroup and hold up in a defensible location, while Seras roams the building to take the fight to the enemy. I guess the idea is to divide Millennium’s focus. They can attack the Geese or watch out for Seras, but not both. For some reason, Seras calls Pip “sir”, like he’s in charge, and maybe that is appropriate in this situation, but I thought Seras was in charge of their training.

Then one of the Geese pats her on the butt and Pip steals a kiss. I’m not sure what the hell this is about. I guess they were trying to lighten the mood before they go to face certain death, but if my life depended on some vampire girl killing all the bad guys before they can rip me to shreds, I probably wouldn’t sexually harass her, or do anything else to tick her off. But that’s just me.

Pip seems resigned about their chances. He’s confident in Seras’ ability, but there’s only one of her and like... 30? Let’s say 30, thirty Nazi Vampires heading their way. If even one of them gets past Seras, the Geese will all die horribly. But they took this job and the risks that come with it, and besides, there’s nowhere for them to run anyway. He seems to accept the situation with a mercenary sense of honor. Like, a mercenary should expect to die in some unwinnable battle, and they shouldn’t complain about it, since it’s the nature of the business.

Anyway, it doesn’t go well. The nature of the comic doesn’t really make it clear how the Wild Geese are operating, but I get the impression that they’re doing sort of a fighting withdrawal concentrating their forces as they give ground. But they suffer a lot of casualties in the process.

This leads to the Geese holing up in the big conference room where Integra met with the Royal Order of Protestant Knights before the Valentine Bros. attack. One guy panics and wants to bug out, but Pip reminds him of what I said a minute ago. They’ve got nowhere else to go, and they all got into this for the action, so they should stick to their principles, even in the face of death.

There’s this one guy from “B-block”, who I guess was covering a certain hallway, but B-Block got cut off before they could join the others in the Round Table room. Zorin Blitz decides to have some fun with him, so she uses her weird powers to make him see himself back home, with his dead daughter.

This seems especially cruel, because it’s not like Zorin needed this diversion to kill one dude. She’s just really sadistic.

Meanwhile, some other Millennium guys are eating the Wild Geese they already killed, and one of them shows off his ability to tell blood types just by taste. It’s this really sick moment, but at the same time it humanizes the characters, which is a weird thing to say when discussing Nazi vampires, but you know what I mean.

Then Seras blows the dude’s head off, which is extremely satisfying.

So Seras is holding up her end, and growing more resolute with each kill. She’s really improved a lot since the last time she was in action. Yeah, these Millennium vampires probably aren’t that much tougher than the vampires she killed back in the summer, but there are a lot more of them, and they’re trained soldiers on top of that, and she doesn’t have Alucard backing her up like she did before.

By now, all that’s left of the Wild Geese are in this barricaded room, and they’ve run low on silver bullets, which means even the few shots that don’t miss will have almost no effect. Pip is determined to hold out, confident that Seras will save them, but...

She runs out of bullets before she runs out of enemies to kill. When she arrives to save the day, she’s still has to go through Zorin Blitz.

But Zorin doesn’t see this as a problem, and she uses her freaky mind powers on Seras, forcing her to relive memories of her days at the orphanage. Yeah, Seras was an orphan, remember? Alucard asked Walter about her parents a while back, and Walter said they were both dead. How did they die?

Well, Zorin Blitz is about to find out...

#2021hellsingliveblog #hellsing #seras victoria #pip bernadotte #zorin blitz #alucard #a bunch of no-name wild geese dudes #i sometimes feel bad that i can't keep track of them all #but then i remember that kouta hirano never gave them names in the first place #so there's young commissioner gordon with the dead daughter #and the chubby faced guy who wants to run away #and the guy who cops a feel on seras #and the other guy who gets blown in half by a rocket launcher #and that's basically it

19 notes · View notes

itsclownhours · 3 years

Conversation

merlin as tumblr posts again because when i edited a typo in the original it fucked up the formatting

everyone: you have to make time for yourself

morgana: *stays up until 1 am every night crying* me time

morgana: ohhhh so the pain is forever and endless i get it now

young!mordred: once i learn how to read and write it’s over for you hoes

lancelot, in cursive: i can’t read cursive handwriting

gwaine: what does this say

elyan: i can’t read cursive handwriting

gwaine: bitch me neither that’s why i asked

arthur, to merlin, about lancelot: is he...y’know…*gestures downard to super hell*

uther, straight: hey what’s up guys do you want to go get some food

arthur and morgana, gay: ??????

uther: oh sorry i mean asgdhjdhs guys do you??? want some food??? lmao ashdjdjhs

arthur and morgana: oh! agshdjjshsj yeah lmao agshdj

morgana: do you ever associate the word “girlfriend” with wlw so much that you forget straight boys have girlfriends

gwen: am taking care of a tiny kitten. have given it an excellent name. dad thinks i’m calling her “minty” but this is actually short for The Government

gwen: The Government bit my finger and pooped on the floor

gwaine: peak art is when you were like six and you scribbled all over ms paint and then carefully paintbucketed in all the different shapes in the scribbles to make “stained glass”

morgause: forcing my car to commit sins so it goes to hell with me when i die

leon, after arthur gives the knights a pep talk: so motivational...time to drill a hole in my skull

morgana: i want to be a she really did that!! kind of girl but i don’t do anything

arthur: pros and cons of being my friend:

arthur: pro: you have a friend

arthur: con: it’s me

gwaine, to lancelot: bro let’s watch a horror movie together...bro you look scared do you wanna share a blanket dude? if you wanna hold hands it’s ok. if you wanna rest your head on my shoulder it’s alright bro...bro if you wanna kiss that’s understandable that was a scary movie...we can keep cuddling after the movie is over it’s alright dude…

lancelot: old town road but he just keeps listing all the places he has horses

gwaine: i got the horses in the back

gwaine: horses on the track

gwaine: horses in the shack and i got horses fetching snacks

gwaine: i got the horses in earth’s core

gwaine: down under the floor

gwaine: horses in the store and i got horses on the moor

gwaine: died and came back as a cowboy i call that reintarnation

morgana: *shows up at college* excuse me will someone please direct me to the leftist brainwashing class? i’m here for the leftist brainwashing class

merlin: finally found someone i was more disappointed in that myself: the entirety of america camelot

morgause: customer (derogatory)

arthur: business major (derogatory)

leon: leonardo dicaprio date a woman over 25 challenge

gwaine: thought that said “leonardo da vinci” and was confused since da vinci was gay and also since you were calling out someone who’s been dead for well over 7 years

leon: well. da vinci has been well over 7 years, i’ll give you that

morgana: the retirement age needs to be lowered to 25. i’ve had enough

gwaine: i’m fucking in luigi’s mansion

leon: who?

gwaine: some italian freak

gwaine: oh you meant who am i fucking. your mom

leon: stop setting things on fire because you’re curious about what will happen. what will happen is fire

gwaine: but what if...something else happens. just this 1 time

morgause: bored? burn an orphan. who’re they gonna tell? their parents?

morgana: due to personal reasons i will be a serial arsonist

mithian: fruit (affectionate)

arthur: going to the fruit (derogatory) store do you want anything

gwen: fruit (salad, yummy yummy)

morgana, to gwen: i’m allergic to hookup culture and too weird to participate anyway. die in my arms

kilgharrah: i am fast and full of teeth. i will die in a barn fire

morgana: not evil anymore i want to be loved now

morgana: evil again

morgause: every day i put on my evil little clothes and do my evil little tasks

percival: megan thee stallion and timothee chalamet are the same age

gwaine: megan thee stallion 🤝 timo thee chalamet

morgana: hey how many swords do you have

morgause: sword of a lot

morgana: blocked

morgause: parried

morgana and gwen simultaneously in 1x10: *chanting* girls with swords girls with swords

morgana: the more knives you have the more valid you are

kilgharrah: blocked. blocked. blocked. you’re all blocked. none of you are free from sin.

morgana: seven deadly sins speedrun

gwaine: i want 6 pet sloths so i can name them after every sin except for sloth

merlin: the eighth deadly sin is networking

arthur: online school culture is constantly wondering if there’s a sneaky little assignment you missed...is it tucked under modules or assignments or heaven forbid, announcements? who’s to say?

gaius: asynchronous learning

merlin, a clown: mmmnaptime

arthur: have you ever just cried because you’re you

elyan, to percival: bro, we are teens . it’s ok to cry around me . i’m your best friend . i love you … bro we are kissing now … no don’t stop bro … bro …

morgana: mad bc i was told as the bride my wedding would be “my day” but actually where will be a whole other bride there and we will have to share it

leon: i’m disgusted every time someone does a gender reveal and it’s about a gender i already know about, what kind of reveal is that

leon: gender reveal party??? no, this is a gender repeal party. we out here revoking genders

gwaine: you’re laughing. i asked you who sings party rock anthem and you’re laughing

gwaine: make no mistake not only am i party rocking but i’m also in the house tonight

elyan: are you shuffling?

gwaine: everyday

morgana: lung extensions

morgana: with extended lungs you can: scream longer, breathe harder, brag about extended lungs

morgana: this procedure is not legal but i will do it for you

morgana: do not tell the police or morgause

morgana: i’m so sick of dna, i’m going to have all mine removed

morgause: good news! this is a real thing that can happen to you

morgana: perfect, sign me up

morgana: if YOU die because i poisoned you...how is that MY fault like i’m sorry you aren’t immune to my poisons i think that’s genuinely something you need to work on. fix yourself before blaming others

arthur: my body is NOT a “temple”...it is a CLOWN CAR and NONE OF THESE BITCHES KNOW HOW TO DRIVE

morgause: live

morgause: laugh

morgause: l u r k

mcdonald’s employee: please sir get off the table

gwaine: I ASKED FOR TWO LARGE FRIES *dumping bag of fried out onto the floor* BUT INSTEAD GOT A HUNDRED FUCKEN LITTLE ONES

merlin: i relate to vampires because i too must be clearly and specifically invited in before i have the audacity to try to participate in anything

gwaine: it can’t be september, just yesterday is was marchgustuary

lancelot: today’s date: [REDACTED]/[REDACTED]/20

gwaine: why are internet friends not normalized. it’s 2020 they’re probably making robots that will wipe your ass for you and i can’t text grace in the uk and tell her to have a good day? fuck you

percival: imagine if halsey was in beauty and the beast

elyan: are you insane like gaston. been in pain like gaston. bought a hundred dollar bottle of champagne like gaston

arthur: my dad is learning about pronouns/gender identity and he called me in the middle of the night to tell me he is cis

merlin: ough. those first 400 bites of dirt were not so good. maybe the next one will be better

morgana: i’m at the dark candy store, buying sorrowful ranchers

merlin: i’m surprised no one has ever punched me in the face

gwen: i want a gf so i can send her memes about loving my gf

morgause: oh to cook with my wife and stand directly in front of cabinets and drawers she needs to open

morgause: decided i will no longer be paying taxes. what are they gonna do, tax me more? go ahead. i won’t pay those either. oh i’m going to prison? the one paid for by my tax dollars? sorry, didn’t pay em. now there is no prison. i am at least 3 steps ahead of the government at all times

merlin: lab safety but the teacher just wants to you die

merlin: lab safety: 1. drink whatever’s in that beaker. i know you fucking want to

morgause: my therapist is selling her house so i’m gonna find the listing online and make her living room my zoom backgrounds before our next session. you wanna get in my head? ok well i’m in your home babe. i’m in charge now

morgana: yeah i see why you’re in therapy

morgana: i hate it when people ask me to “explain my thought process” like hell if i know

morgana: what’s going on in that head of yours?” nothing i want to be a part of

mordred: hey girls what’s the hot gossip what’s new what’s the 411

morgana and morgause: everything is bad and getting worse by the day

morgause: common letter greetings from 1889

morgause: dearest my-soon-to-be-enemy

morgause: salutations and i hope you enjoy contact prison

morgause: i hope this letter finds you in a ditch

arthur: *highlights all the wrong and unimportant stuff with full confidence*

merlin: i’ve tried opening my mouth and saying words before and i’ve gotta say, i’m not a fan

morgana: a large group of humans is called a fuck that

website: synonyms for blood: juice

mithian: thank you thesaurus.com, that is absolutely not what i was looking for

gwaine: gen z humor was single-handedly cultivated by the zoo wee mama comic and you can’t convince me otherwise

morgana: screw this it’s halloween now *turns into a swarm of bats them consumes the moon*

morgana: i can’t believe the heterosexuals are gone. they’re gone

uther: we’re still here

arthur: who said that

gwaine: no more france

gwaine: society has progressed passed the need for france

morgause: girls night out (of body experience)

morgana, to morgause: what do you mean “what have i been up to”...i’m out here ruining my own life as always bitch

merlin: stop complaining about your life. there are literally people living in camelot

arthur, trying to find new knights: oh so you’re a human? name three pictures with traffic lights in them

gwaine: we mcfreaking lost her doctor

morgause: looking for a wife in the walmart

morgause: arrested for visiting www.killing.com/murder

gwaine, to merlin: no bro this isn’t a date listen bro

gwaine: it’s bruhnch

morgause, to cenred: if you think i’m not interested, you’re right

gwen: put a pancake on a girl’s head when she’s asleep to keep her warm and safe

morgana: idk what mad scientist needs to hear this today but your goggles and lab coat are incredibly flattering and all your experiments will block away the scientific community who called you a fool

morgause: i’m gonna fucking die disease

morgause: symptoms: back hurts a bit too much for a bit too long

arthur: if you think i’m annoying now wait until i get over my fear of being perceived as annoying

merlin: sorry if i’m bothering you

surgeon: how do you keep waking up and saying that

gwaine: home depot needs more small tunnels for me to crawl through tbh

percival: hot tip: soup is customizable! go wild but know your limits

morgana: brains say “i know a spot” and take you to a traumatic memory from 2011

mithian: “can you multitask” yes actually i am losing my mind and chilling at the same time

morgana: quarantine schedule to keep you on track

morgana: wake up

morgana: neglect online school

morgana: yearn (ongoing project)

morgana: again!

mithian: if cats don’t want to be held like little babies maybe they shouldn’t be roughly the size and shape of little babies

morgause: fuck this pandemic i could’ve ruined 2020 on my own

morgana: a cute girl told me she has lots of plants in her house and i told her for some fucking reason “damn the oxygen at your place must be mad crisp” and somehow still got her number so. chase your dreams. nothing is impossible apparently

morgana: oh to wear a knife strapped against my thigh beneath a silk dress

morgana, running off with morgause at the end of season 2: i hate this place i want to go to build a bear

morgana, at work: i’m evil

morgana, 1 second after clocking out: not evil anymore i want to be loved now

morgana, the next day at work: evil again

season 2 morgana: i am fine thank you for asking! though recently there has been a darkness growing within me

morgause: *thinks about love* okay well i am just losing my mind and being insane now

arthur: you think you can hurt my feelings? i’ve been the least favorite in every single friendship group i’ve had since i was 8

morgana, staring out the window at arthur and merlin: look at them plotting my downfall

mithian: i wanna buy clown noses in bulk and start sticking them on every person i see whose mask is pulled too low

mithian: oh to be a tiny cat whose biggest concern is the looming threat of being gently picked up and kissed on the head

morgana: i deserve to be kissed

morgana: did you have a homoerotic friendship with a girl in high school that ended in tragedy and you two are never talking again or are you normal?

mithian: just diagnosed with forehead kiss deficiency :/

morgana: i think i’ll continue to wear a mask when this shit’s all over, and huge sunglasses. my face is none of your business

morgause: my therapist told me that sometimes when a person consumes the same piece of media over and over they may be unconsciously coping with a mental block so now i’m trying to figure out what the fuck i was going through that made me watch ratatouille 8 times a day for a solid month in middle school

morgause: opposite of depression nap. depression awakeness. refreshing the same three websites over and over. there’s nothing new on any of them. eight seconds have passed and it feels like a century

morgana: very homophobic that my head is not laying on the chest of my maidservant as i am drifting off to sleep

merlin: no no, it’s fine, i’ll text myself back

morgana: *pines* *longs* *yearns* *pines* *longs* *yearns* *pines* *longs* *yearns* *pines* *longs* *yearns* *pines* *longs* *yearns* *pines* *longs* *yearns* *pines* *longs* *yearns* *pines* *longs* *yearns*

arthur: i’d have to be a fool not to? being a fool and not doing things are my top two activities

gwaine: you think it’s easy to be me? you think it’s easy to get up every. single. day. and be an industrial grade dumbass? well it’s not. but that’s what i do. and i’ll never stop.

morgana: ah shit i’m sorry man, my schedule for the week is all booked

sunday: yearn

monday: pine

tuesday: long

wednesday: ache

thursday: sigh

friday: lament

saturday: crave

morgana: talents include: being a public menace, denying God’s will, petting dogs, yearning, being dramatic, witchcraft, quoting classic literature when no one asked, napping, befriending a murder of crows, being gay, covering up my emotions by being “the funny friend” when in reality i’m really going through it, wistfully staring out the car window

merlin: *doesn’t even do the bare minimum* all in a day’s work

cenred: a “period” is not an excuse to have an attitude

morgause: i miss the times when men would go to war and die

morgana: the cheap halloween vampire fangs stay ON during sex

gwen: maybe i pspspspsp’ed you because i love you. did you think of that? huh?

morgana: mom said it’s my turn to hand out the ominous and vague warnings

arthur: that wasn’t mom

uther: she JUST SAID it was her turn

morgause: i’m a chill person but if my back doesn’t stop hurting i’m going to take out my spine and beat God with it

mithian: one of these days i’m going to say the f word

mithian: then you’ll all be sorry

morgause: 3 words every girl wants to hear

morgause: club penguin membership

morgana: hmm, yes.

morgana: time to s i p

morgana: some *~crispy~*

morgana: d i h y d r o g e n m o n o x i d e

morgause: roll call! raise your hand if you’re in the following fandoms:

morgause: 1. suffering 2. the pain of living

morgana: *raises both hands and a leg*

leon: it’s so hard being a single mom when you have no kids and are a male teenager

merlin: yeah bro hit me up and we’ll cancel some plans sometime

morgana: my brain, or as i like to call it, the suffer contraption

morgause: my circle so small i almost cut myself off

morgause hyping herself up before entering any public area: i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal i’m normal

arthur: today in french we learned how to say “what’s in the bag” and i couldn’t stop laughing because

arthur: swaggity swag qu’est-ce qui dans le sac

merlin: even when i am not speaking, know that horrible sentences are raging within me

mithian in 5x04: sorry bro i can’t go out tonight. i’m stuck in an eternal state of melancholy

morgause: shower gel label: immerse yourself in this new “Me Time” luxury frooty tooty. abandon all sense of identity and dissolve your memories into this soothing chemical broth. one billion melons are in this tube...use them wisely

leon, writing a headline about the most recent knights’ mission: local dumbasses knew that what they were getting themselves into and did it anyways

morgana: *feels random pain in body*

morgana: kill me

mithian: *slowly inches closer to your pet*

morgause: *refuses to look at texts* i love conversation and communication

arthur: cute gender neutral things to call your partner

arthur: significant annoyance

leon: the most unrealistic fantasy trope is the one where half of the pair works in some sort of shop and one is a customer because i have literally never thought about a customer with anything other than contempt

gwaine: why is everyone talking about 1d all of a sudden did one of them die

elyan: they’re 10 years old now

gwaine: i wish them luck 4th grade is tough!!

gwaine: must i pursue a career? is it not enough to be passionate about tv shows and snack foods?

leon, aroace: cool date idea: me eating oatmeal by myself

morgana: i have no self of steam

gwaine: i hate wearing a mask. i miss being able to gently kiss my trader joe’s cashier on the lips after they ring up my $8 box of blueberries

morgana: committing acts of violence today…*pushes morgause’s glass of water off the counter*

gwaine: mario will do anything to put a smile on your face

morgana: haha we get along so well...our brains just work the same way

morgause, after changing her entire personality to match morgana’s after analyzing the way she talks and texts: haha yeah it’s incredible

gwaine: covered in sauce, trembling

arthur: *says the vaguest most incoherent shit ever*

arthur: you know what i mean :/

[online]

morgana: *screenshots things her girlfriend said to her so she can read it again later* yeah i’m not gay

uther: dude no offence i don’t want to sound like an sjw or anything but if you have a girlfriend you’re straight. that’s just how it works

morgana: i’m a girl

uther: what the fuck

morgana: the second you say “family group chat” i know we are not the same

gwen: what if early in the morning after buying groceries we got caught in the rain and i used my jacket to cover your head ut we still got soaked and we made a fire at home and brewed tea and sat together watching the rain as our cats hid under our feets at each sound of thunder and we ate stew for dinner and watched tv until we fell asleep on the couch with your head resting on my shoulder

gwaine, to percival: hold my hand bro we’re crossing the street

percival: imageine if we all just started ignoring celebrities though

percival: i can’t stop thinking about how funny this would be. imagine kyie jenner posting a selfie and it gets 12 likes

morgana: this isn’t fun anymore i need a kiss

morgause at 1159 pm: life’s great lol

morgause at 1201 am: does anyone really know me? most importantly do i really know me? what if life doesn’t get better than this?

merlin: king i needbfjdjgnjfg qldkr snmsmdjgjt ….. .. i need--fjrjkrhgphpqn dd

arthur: huh *dunks merlin’s head back underwater*

morgana: i don’t go to therapy or take any pills i just rawdog life and let my brain turn into soup

mordred: dark emails

morgause: to whom it WILL concern

morgana: now that this email has found you

gwaine: hi waiter could i get the spaghetti i promise i’ll behave this time

merlin: the sexiest thing about me? everything hurts my feelings

gwaine: how is sex fun if i have to remove my crocs to have it

elyan: if he makes you remove your crocs for sex he isn’t the one

morgause: a motherfucker could use an embrace

morgana: every night after 10pm my feelings start crawling out, starved, as i beat them with a moderately large stick vigorously hissing “stay back” until i inevitably fall asleep

fanfiction: there’s only one room available…

morgause, who specifically chose a rated m and explicit story: oh my gosh there’s only one room they’re gonna share a bed what’s gonna happen next

morgana: i can have a little unrealistic romantic fantasy. as a treat

arthur: some of y’all weren’t asked out as a joke in middle school and it shows

morgana: how is everyone doing. i’ll go first i’m doing badly

morgana: being a kid was so fucking funny we’d just go around lying to each other’s faces constantly to impress each other one of the knights told me he was the first person to visit the sun and when i asked him what it was like to prove he was lying he said he didn’t remember because they sent him there when he was a baby and to this day the mental image of nasa launching an unsupervised baby into the sun still makes me crack up

elyan: do you wish you were seeing somebody

leon: a therapist

morgause: when you see someone from high school and they don’t recognize you that’s the exact opposite of the mortifying ordeal of being known. the gratifying relief of being forgotten

[texting]

morgana: you seem hard to kill

morgause: aw thank you

morgause: i haven’t been killed yet

morgana: to your knowledge

morgause: what

morgana: just truly bonkers how much i love lying down……..like being horizontal? Unparalleled

arthur: when i was younger i really thought that piranhas were going to be a bigger issue for me than they’ve turned out to be

morgause: filling out the depression and anxiety checkboxes at the doctors is always so sad but also very very funny

morgause: i am handed a piece of paper. i check off a box that says “every day i wish i were dead”. i hand back the paper. the paper and its contents are never again discussed.

morgana: unfortunately, due to several experiences in my youth, i cannot just “walk up and join the circle of people talking”, but it does sound lovely thank you

morgana: if california is so expensive why don’t you move to somewhere like ohio

morgause: full offense but i’d rather be dead in california than alive in ohio

morgause: ugly and uninspiring--review of ohio

morgana: staying up late not even fun anymore it’s just sad

morgause: everyone should be comfortable in their own skin :)

morgause’s brain: except for you

morgause: except for me :)

mithian: please peer pressure me into finishing projects

merlin: do it or you’re straight

mithian: i said peer pressure not threaten

morgause: the year is 2030. bakery art is so realistic, literally anything could be cake. the uncertainty has gripped the world in fear. i go to hug my wife for comfort. she is cake.

morgause: i sob in despair as i eat my cake wife. she is delicious

gwen: do ladies love stupid men or do they just love men who don’t exhaust every opportunity to feel smart

gwen: “i used to think that melancholy was a vegetable” that’s incredible, let’s hang out more

morgause: basically i accidentally listened to a song a few years ago and it led to this

morgana: *desperately tries to romanticise her homework*

uther: do i have to be pretty? is it not enough to simply be the loudest person in the room with the worst opinions

morgana: oh i can’t possibly study, i have allotted the next six hours to yearning vaguely

morgause: allow me to de-introduce myself

morgause: my name is [redacted]

arthur: i have no good posts today i’m sorry guys

merlin: haha “today”

mordred: “do we perhaps use magic because we were bullied and needed blah blah special interest blah blah” shut the FUCK up i use magic to see my anime husband’s big fucking honkers. sorry you got pantsed in front of your crush

morgana: i came here to bully people

mordred: is it because you got pantsed in front of your crush

morgana: no it’s because i’m deranged

mithian: pretty sure seven deadly sins is a bit excessive

mithian: just combine wrath and gluttony and make hangry

mithian: sloth and pride make Bottoming

morgana: despicable me ruined the word minion whenever i become a supervillain i’m just going to have to call them my homies or whatever

gwen: as a bisexual i am attracted to lanky boys with dark hair, girls who look like they could kill me, and anyone wearing vampire teeth

morgana: if someone tried to assassinate me that would make me feel so important and valued and beloved

gwaine: turn down for whom?

mithian: fact: usage of the word “the” has begun to decline. this is because as more and more people become educated, usage of the word “thoum’st” has become more common.

morgana, kidnapping mithian in 5x04: truth or dare? uhhh i dare you to………………………………..fall in love with me. haha i’m just joking bro………………..unless…………………………?

gwaine: my thoughts are like a clearance sale

gwaine: once it’s gone it’s gone

morgana: *pronounces “hors d’oeuvres” as “horse divorce” specifically to piss off morgause*

gwaine: do you prefer women or men?

leon: death

morgause: honestly no offense but i love falling asleep and sleeping. it’s like. ok goodnight

morgause: ngl it’s kinda difficult to be the moody and mysterious background character in everyone’s life when you’re quarantined at home

morgause: i need to get laid

morgause: --to rest. put me in a coffin, let my soul ascend

gwaine: it takes a lot of heart to be this stupid

gwaine: it takes real strength not to know shit about fuck

elyan: what’s your favorite anime?

leon: i’m a christian

arthur: just bought this tapeworm from etsy!

lancelot: where are you gonna keep it

arthur: :)

merlin: i don’t like this conversion very much

gwaine: i’m home alone with the tv repair man

gwaine: i’m no fool, there are only two possible outcomes of this scenario

gwaine: porn or murder

gwaine, an hour later: apparently there was an unforeseen third outcome where he fixes the tv and then leaves

morgause: well tomorrow fucking sucked

morgana: dark brunch

morgana: *mixes a mimosa with evil intent*

morgause: this is just what being gay is like

gwaine: movie idea: guy finds a stone tablet engraved with a mysterious alien language and gets caught up in a national treasure-esque adventure to decipher its meaning, only to learn that it’s just an alien “live laugh love” decoration

arthur: sorry i didn’t mean to open your ig story 20 seconds after you posted i’m just unemployed

arthur: why do you say men are objects? that’s not true and hurtful

morgana: men are on sale at the grocery store for a few dollars

cenred: why do you say men are objects? that’s not true and hurtful

morgause: men are on sale at the grocery store for a few dollars

morgana: wow would you look at that. it’s already that time of the night where i move the stuff on my bed to my chair. can’t wait until tomorrow when i move the stuff from my chair back onto my bed

gwaine: hi i’m bethany with girl defined ministry and today we are going to be talking about how to stan my chemical romance in a God-honoring way

morgana: bottom: ,,, !!! ;;; vers: …. top: no punctuation whatsoever

morgause: tops are illiterate

morgause: i slept for almost 12 hours but i might still be tired so let’s go for 12 more just in case

morgana: morgause that’s a coma

morgause: sounds festive

mithian: i am a simple woman. i enter the kitchen. i eat four servings of bread products. i leave.

gwaine: it’s one serving if you serve all of it to yourself

mithian: i like the way you think, friend

gwaine: spencer from icarly and rodrick from diary of a wimpy kid are on the opposite ends of the same spectrum

elyan: the gay older brother scale

merlin: i found a rock :)

merlin: my troubles will soon be over

gwaine: parasite (2019) dir. bong joon ho

percival: uncut gems (2019) dir. josh and benny safdie

elyan: cain

morgana: social distancing is okay for me bc i’ve been touch starved since the 15th century. i’m used to it

mithian: fanfiction hits different when you’re gay and yearning and haven’t experienced an ounce of romance in your life

morgause: callout for rude baby seen at grocery store

morgause: i’m calling out a baby (approximately 12-14 months old) from the grocery store due to its rudeness. i’m guessing its age based on appearance, motor skills (atrocious) and whatnot. anyway, i smiled at this baby and it just stared at me. as soon as i began to move on, though, the baby said “no!” and started giggling when i turned back around. this happened multiple times. the baby’s actions were toxic and manipulative. the baby was also manhandling a package of dried fruit which wasn’t yet paid for (quite minor) and was just generally sitting around and not helping

gwen: we need to melt down all the pennies and make the statue of liberty a girlfriend

morgause: had a realization in a dream i just had that this isn’t real and i can just do whatever i want and so i started shrinking the face of this guy that was talking to me and then once it got real small i woke up sleep paralyzed

morgause: i was given godlike powers over the universe by realizing it’s all in my head and the first thing i did was use them to torment the nearest man

morgause: and the actual God woke me up and put be into a 5 minute timeout to lay frozen and think about what i’ve done

morgana: does anyone else feel an awkward tension whenever you see another person your age in the grocery store

gwaine: the number 87 kinda looks like a plague doctor

percival: you’ve just changed the fucking game

elyan: [|87

morgana: a lonely bitch...a loner...i love isolation AND detachment

gwaine: i will not call the judges “your honor”. in america we don’t have titles of nobility. they will get a simple “yes dude” from me

gwaine: calling big bird just “bird” because i do not respect him

morgause: *photo of a pizza in a bad* caught the bae sleepin

mordred: now why would you waste a perfectly good pizza :(

morgause: that “waste” happens to be my wife getting her beauty sleep. think before you speak

gwaine: *finishes wedding vows* don’t forget to like and subscribe

morgana: *is bitter but is also right*

morgana: how dare you not notice me when i’m ignoring you

morgause, killing cenred: men be like i’m bilingual i speak english and over women

gwaine: after i move i really wanna get a used roomba

percival: i love that you’re adopting instead of buying from a breeder

mordred: joking about a kink is a gateway drug into developing said kink

morgana: my kink is mental, emotional, and financial stability

morgause: unrealistic, settle for choking like normal people

gaius: gay people use halloween props as home decor year round

morgana: shut up shut up this black jar with a raven painted on it is holiday-neutral

[texting]

morgause: can you come out?

morgana: yeah gimme a minute

morgana: morgause, i’m gay

morgause: i know that. come out to the car

morgana: car, i’m gay

morgause: God FUCKING damnit i’m such a hopeless romantic one day someone’s gonna say “i love you” and i’m just going to let out an agonized scream so horrible that they immediately change their mind

gaius: i’m not wearing glasses anymore i’ve seen enough

morgause: sorry my battery’s on 96% i gtg

morgause: you hate me? wow you think you’re hot shit and original huh well i hated me first so you can go grab a number and wait your turn

morgana: don’t ignore me ?? i despise being ignored ?? i mean i’m ignoring like 8 people right now but still ???

morgana: shoutout to my favorite coping mechanism, isolation

morgana: the concept of physical beauty is a scam unless you’re calling me cute in which case it is valid, actually

merlin: oh, so when other people go outside it’s “good for their health” and “highly recommended”, it’s only when i do it that it’s a “containment breach” and a “high-level threat to public safety and security”, huh?

gwaine: a charming photo of young john mulaney, seemingly celebrating the kennedy assassination

merlin: princess diana wasn’t john mulaney’s first kill

morgause: hate when i got out in public and the public is there

morgana: it seems the public is no longer in the public

morgause: i’ve won...but at what cost?

morgana: girls will see a chance to commit arson and be like “sorry, i have to take this”

morgause: girls will see a building that’s not on fire and say “is anyone gonna burn that” and not wait for an answer

#puff does things #long post

3 notes · View notes

comicteaparty · 4 years

Text

July 20th-July 26th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from July 20th, 2020 to July 26th, 2020. The chat focused on Ring Spell by Artem Ficta.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Ring Spell by Artem Ficta~! (http://ring-spell.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until July 26th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Feather J. Fern

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? I like how it seems lighthearted at first, but knowing Artem it's going to drop the ball on us really soon haha.(edited)

Also I always love how the backgrounds are, they look great.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Hahah, it's a shame I didn't get one more update up XD Thank you so much, Feather~!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

well, the CTP is gonna run for the rest of the week...

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

I can't finish the next 8 pages by then XD

My guess is they'll be up the week after next

RebelVampire

For the beginning, I'm with Feather and I like how quickly the comic transitions from just lalala happy school to oh wait there's weird shit going on. I really like stories where the status quo is quickly ripped out from under your feet. My favorite moment in the comic so far is probably the most recent scene when we get to see Lyall's apartment and ya know, Claire starts dropping all these bombshells on us. The scene is the epitome of "Well that escalated quickly" and its just loaded with so much info to unpack. My favorite character right now is Claire. One because she seems the most sensible and mysterious, and two because I love Claire's hair so much and I'm so jealous and want such floof beautiful hair. ;3; As for characters I like see interacting the most, probably Claire and Lyall and they have some really good banter and a relationship, insofar, that's just kind of hilarious in its brutal honesty. A close second for me is Claire and Tasha as it quickly switches from happy smiles to probably most likely to have a catfight in the hallway.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Catfight in the hallway, lolol. Makes me want to draw them dressed like cat girls XD

RebelVampire

No not that sort of catfight

probably

O_O

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

comic turns into a catgirl fetish comic

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

1. I like how the first word is Zenchav which was the title of the comic this is a hard reboot of XD 2. My favorite moment was Lyall sticking his hands up Damon's shirt XD I really like how it was drawn and it's the most Lyall thing ever to do. 3. My favorite character overall is Damon, although it's probably Lyall at this point in the story. But I like them all of course XD 4. Damon and anybody, lol. I like when I get to draw him XD 5. I've been trying out a new shading style with this since I almost exclusively just hard shaded before, so it's nice to be branching out a bit and trying some new things. The Intro page is probably my favorite atm.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Theory: Lyall sticking his cold hands up Damon's shirt is how he drains Damon's energy, because secretly he's the witch.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Oh no! XD that would be a twist!

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Oh snap!

mathtans

Hmmm, so we ship Claire and Tasha then?

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

I don't not ship Tasha and Claire >v>

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Drew that picture of them

RebelVampire

We should indeed all suspect Lyall. I mean no parents, lives alone, yet somehow affords everything? That's witchery.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

How does he afford all that stuff

does he sell drugs on the side or something XD it is suspicious

mathtans

1. I'll mostly echo everyone else here in terms of the start seems pretty straightforward and makes one wonder how the teaser page fits into it all. I'll add a remark on the subtle details of world building, like you've got your digital alarm... and dude straight up has a TAIL, and it's like, no comment, that's normal too.

2. Favourite moment was probably recruiting Claire into the cosplay skit. It's like, hello new person, oh you want to associate with us? Then you need the proper accessories, and Claire's all 'Um, I'm not sure... prop weapons? Uh, okay then...' Cosplay is a force to be reckoned with. (nods)

3. Fave character... yeah, may have to echo Rebel here and go with Claire. Possibly because she's the first chapter name, and like the reader is coming into this new situation, so can get behind her trying to figure it out... but also because I'm big on the time/space bureau stuff and that sounds like a cool job to get.

Damon has a cool cane and has the mysterious ailment afflicting his cosplay though, so he's my fave guy at the moment. (Werewolf blood? Moon thing? Dunno.)

4. I honestly do like the Tasha/Claire interactions the most, because each of them seems to have something to hide, and so you're kind of wondering if and when one of them might slip up. The other girl interrupting with the paint was classic, and I felt it helped break tension. The ship picture (which I imagine won't show in the log) is kind of representative of that with the chessboard too, like they're making moves against the other (though I'm not yet convinced that one is a witch, could be a setup).

Of course, I'm very biased towards the yuri, so grain of salt for my opinions and all. And while the ship was a humour comment at first, I think I'm more into it after seeing a "catfight" could play out.

All that said, the Lyall/Damon interactions are equally good. Lyall's perversion sometimes saying the quiet part out loud.

5. I recognize the art style, have read some of the work before (under different name). Always find the hair impressive, like here you get the impression of each individual strand except that's not actually what's drawn... you can still see the neat ears, Claire having some strands that fall in front of her too. The shading is really good too, like definitely shades of grey, not just black and white.

Kind of echoing the author there, but I can see it.

I'm so bad with themes and need to charge computer, will be back later. o.o

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

I love all this input Math, thank you ;3;/

RebelVampire

@mathtans You have no idea how happy I am that someone noticed the tail that nobody seemed to comment on.

RebelVampire

What I like about the art is how clean and crisp everything is cause mmmm that sexy lineart you can just paint bucket when needed. <3 I like that the comic explores the idea of having someone you've known your entire life possibly be evil. Cause it opens up a lot of questions. Like should you doubt? Should you trust? And at which point have you hit the point of betrayal? So I'm glad we'll get to see a bit of this tackled as Lyall and Claire look for evidence. As for the overall story, I like that there's just lots of questions going on. It's a theorists dream. But I find the more mysteries a comic has, the more engaging it is. Because even when you know the answer, it's interesting everytime to see the characters reach that answer. As for the comic's strengths, see the above and the art. It's super pretty and clean to look at, has some fantastic emotive faces during the more comedic moments, and there's just lots to theorize and look forward too. ;3;

Now I will proceed to weep as someone who beta read the script and actually can't theorize cause I just know .

mathtans

Others may have noticed but not been sure what to say? (Does the tail turn into the cane?)

6. Ok, themes... could be a theme of belonging in there. Like Claire being accepted into the group, like Lyall wondering if she's only talking to him to get to Damon, that sort of thing? Then there's the idea Rebel raised of thinking you know someone but not necessarily knowing them.

Of course, there's also credibility, like maybe Claire is simply an escaped mental patient with really good hacking skills to get herself in the school and apartment. Because that's quite the tale she spins. (Though Lyall had heard of the organization? Or he's pranking her, bit hard to know for sure.)

7/8. The story's been setting up a number of things in the background, I feel. Which can be a strength, as we're learning more character items first. Though Claire's latest revelation I'm really jazzed about, because the idea of time travel (times when demons weren't supposed to be) and personification (Earth as a female entity) are right up my alley. So that's cool.

Also Lyall apparently has a strange aura to go with Tasha's strange energy? Maybe the witch is jumping bodies. Maybe we should ship Lyall/Tasha.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Oh my gosh, loving these ideas!

I don't want to give spoilers but I think I'll answer the tail thing cause I never really meant for it to be a mystery It's just tucked into his pants when he's in public is all. That's why he's wearing the track suit for the school and not the standard school uniform, cause the pants are looser.

although it turning into the cane could have been hella cool(edited)

now I'm a little bummed I never thought of that

But the cane has other purposes

mathtans

I didn't really think it was a big mystery, and that explanation makes sense. (So I suppose it could be not normal, only normal for Damon's friends... demon prejudice otherwise?) Ok, so the cane is where he hides his stimulants to keep awake until the full moon.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. What are your theories about Damon’s past? Why is he concerned about when the full moon is? Additionally, what do you think was meant about Damon and Xerfonos being the same age but not being twins?

10. Do you think Claire is right that Tasha is the witch Cadence? If so, how will she prove it? If not, who else could it be? Also, what might this all have to do with Tasha’s concern about Claire being the mysterious Draco’s student?

11. What do you think Cadence ultimately wants from Damon? Why would this compel the Earth, and by extension Apus, to protect him? Also, even if the characters find Cadence, can she actually be stopped?

12. Why do you think Lyall reacted so strangely to Claire mentioning Apus, and why do you think he’s so sure Apus wouldn’t care about protecting Damon? Do you think Lyall can trust Claire even for the long term?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

9. I mean, Damon seems to be a demon, but he's cool with being in our world, so... maybe he was born of a human/demon pairing? Or he was adopted by humans when he was a baby and simply given the same birthday as Xerfonos. I'm guessing the full moon has more significance than merely to werewolves (unless Damon needs to bite a werewolf to regain strength idk) and so it would help him.

I will say that initially the "same age" thing didn't phase me because there's more than 9 months in a year, plenty of time for having a second kid born in the same year. But now that I'm debating the adoption angle, maybe there's more to it.

They're not twins... they're TRIPLETS! Dun dun dun. Anyway.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

they could also just not be twins due to a date technicality like one was born right before midnight and one was born right after

but yeah the adoption angle would explain a lot

mathtans

10. I don't think she's right about Tasha, or if she's right, not in the way she thinks. Because we've seen some from Tasha's perspective and she didn't seem to be the person in charge of whatever. In terms of proof, I guess she could see if Tasha would cosplay as a witch? And if the shoe fits? But yeah, maybe the witch is jumping between people like I mentioned earlier, or is not actually there yet, like APUS got the date wrong or something. Maybe Tasha's also trying to protect Damon from the witch (hence trying to give him that new name) but it's a rival organization?

I mean, technically still twins in that case, just not having the same birthday. (If Feb 29th enters into it, it gets even weirder.)

Actually, why wouldn't Claire use Damon's given name? Maybe her organization doesn't know everything it thinks it does?

Anyway, just had time for some random thoughts. Back later tonight.

mathtans

11. Cadence may just want him to keep living so that she can keep siphoning off energy. (Thus perhaps APUS wants him dead, it's not about protection?!) Or maybe Cadence wants a sweet cosplay. (Probably not.) Of course, it might be that if she's a free floating witch, she wants his body. Maybe she can't be stopped, but could be redirected?

The Earth aspect is one I haven't really been able to figure out yet. (Are pavonis a type of pasta?) But maybe there's a destiny or something that Damon needs to fulfil first.

12. Lyall could have been pranking, but maybe he knows a different organization like that... or maybe that's the name of some mystery file on his computer that he hasn't been able to open because the Cadence inside him hasn't revealed the password, oooh. I think Lyall can trust Claire (assuming she's not a raving lunatic) and she might even need him to provide better cover (she didn't seem to even know what apartment she was in)... but that's short term. Long term is another question, if she starts getting Apus directives saying to do things he wouldn't agree with.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

This is all so interesting ;3;

Pavonis as a type of pasta, lolol

mathtans

I'm glad it's more interesting than rambly.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Nah, I love it XD I'm afraid I'd give spoilers if I said anymore lmao

RebelVampire

My theories about Damon's past are that he's a werewolf. And that something about being a werewolf has changed how he ages compared to Xerfonos - thus why they're the same age but not twins. Granted I guess they could also just be half brothers who have a shared father who said, "Man I should knock two girls up at once." But werewolf sounds more interesting. No I think we've established Lyall is clearly the witch. He is too suspicious. Tasha probably is a super secret agent or something, hence the suspicion. Maybe Apus is into some shady shit that Tasha knows about, especially Draco, so she doesn't want them jumping in on everything. As for how proof, she won't. Cadence will reveal she's Lyall when the most damage can be caused and Claire will weep her career as a detective is through. Cadence might just think Damon is hot. Although I think Damon has a grand destiny ahead of him, and Cadence wants to interfere with that destiny while also bulking up on some of that tasty werewolf energy. Also, can Cadence be stopped? Probably. But definitely not by these chumps right now. XD Lyall reacted strangely cause that was the Cadence in him going oh shit and kind of taking over. And sure, Lyall can trust Claire to never figure out its him. Sorry Claire, you hot, but clearly aren't noticing some stuff.

mathtans

I hadn't considered the "same father different mothers" angle. O.o Maybe it was a sperm donation sort of thing though?

As to Claire, maybe Tasha will be nice enough to buy Claire ice cream and give her snuggles once she realizes the error of her ways.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Tasha and Claire will get to snuggling at some point I'm sure XD

The same father with different mothers sounds most probable

of what's been mentioned at least

mathtans

I mean, time travel could also be involved. What with Apus.

Maybe Claire is Damon's daughter and she's trying to protect her own existence.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Maybe Claire is Xerfonos' mother

Wait, I don't think that'd work out lmao

Daughter would be way more probable

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

I look forward to getting a bit further into the story XD it's still pretty early on atm and there's a lot of really good scenes later. I don't feel like we've really gotten to know Damon yet either

RebelVampire

I am looking forward to seeing people's theories as the story continues and pieces fall into place. It will be interesting to see the routes people take with the ideas of what the answers are going to be. My final words are just read the comic. O_O

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I didn't end up having any brain power to write responses over the week, but I really enjoyed Ring Spell. Damon and his brother are cuties, Claire seems very capable, and I can't wait to find out what Tasha's motives are. I'm real excited to see how the themes of magical marital vows come to the forefront :3

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Thank you~!

mathtans

Busy weekend was busy. Looking forward to seeing how the Apus thing fits in, like is Claire even from their time period? Will Lyall spill all the secrets? Will the ships happen? I'm so behind in all my reading but I've flagged it to check back when I can.

There was also the bit at the start implying knowing people from other lives, but the time travel possibilities make that weird. And I guess there's also the question of whether a Ring will have a Spell on it. Like, maybe the witch doesn't know she's the witch while she's wearing a ring? Or they have to get her to wear a ring? Here I am guessing again. ^^

14. To conclude, all the best with it, looks like a good setup. I do enjoy the art style too.

Also I guess congrats on being the finale CTP? Nice that you got it in there. Good initiative.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Thank you so much Math~!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Ring Spell this week! Please also give a special thank you to Artem Ficta for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Ring Spell, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://ring-spell.com/

Artem Ficta’s Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/artemficta

Artem Ficta’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtemFicta

#ctparchive #webcomics #indie comics #comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic bookclub #webcomic book club #comic tea party #ctp #ring spell #artem ficta

1 note · View note

the-desolated-quill · 5 years

Text

Fearful Symmetry - Watchmen blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. if you haven’t read this comic yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Do you know what’s my favourite thing about Watchmen? Even when offering damning criticism about superhero archetypes and America’s corruption, it never loses sight of the average joe. And that’s what Fearful Symmetry is all about.

Fearful Symmetry explores the fallout (get it?) after Doctor Manhattan has left Earth, exploring how regular American citizens react to the news that Russia has invaded Afghanistan and that the chances of total nuclear annihilation has increased exponentially. We see the news vendor and the comic reading kid again, which means we get more snippets from Tales Of The Black Freighter. I would love to know how Moore came up with the idea of having Black Freighter interspersed throughout the novel to provide poetic irony. I know some readers don’t really care for it, but I personally really like it. Not only does it give us some nice bit of info about this alternative America, it also highlights specific themes at play within a particular issue’s narrative (as well as foreshadowing what will happen in issues to come. Wink, wink).

In the Black Freighter storyline, the unnamed pirate captain has used the corpses of his crew to make a raft in the hopes of getting back home. We also see him eat some seagulls and kill a shark. Lovely. Now for those who have read the graphic novel and know what happens at the end, this serves as a really sneaky reference to what happens in the final issue, but we’ll talk about that when we come to it. For now lets concentrate on how it relates to this issue. America is in a state of paranoia and turmoil. Their superhuman nuclear deterrent is gone and Cold War tensions are increasing exponentially. It’s getting more and more likely that World War Three is going to happen. So what do people do? Some resort to their baser instincts, such as the man who kills his daughters because the youngest said “Wah,” which he mistook for ‘war’ during a moment of intense hysteria. Others, like Joey, are trying to make the best of it. Joey asks the news vendor to hang her poster promoting a benefit gig for ‘Gay Women Against Rape.’ The news vendor was first introduced to us as a brash and somewhat bigoted old fart, and though he does make a snide remark about Joey, he still hangs the poster up for her, presumably for the same reason he let the kid have the comic for free. Life’s too short. We also see the otherwise timid Dan make a move on Laurie, inviting her to stay at his house now that Manhattan is out of the picture. The point is, like the pirate captain, people’s morals and priorities are changing in response to a sense of impending doom. The pirate captain, a once respectable gentleman, has been reduced to using his dead crew as floats for his raft and snatching seagulls out of the air for food. In the interests of survival he’s changed to the point where he no longer recognises himself.

The attack of the sharks could also be symbolic of what happens with Adrian Veidt. An assassin tries to kill him, but is violently stopped before taking a cyanide capsule to avoid talking. There’s the obvious parallel you can make about how the assassin is the shark and Adrian is the prey, but considering what happens in the issues to come, it could also be seen as a subtle hint that this assassination isn’t quite how it first appears. The sharks were drawn to the captain’s raft because of the corpses. Is Adrian really just an innocent victim here? Could he have somehow done something to bring the assassin to him? Hmmmm....

Very quickly I just want to say that I love how the assassination is played out. Obviously there’s the composition where the beginning and the end of the issue match each other symmetrically throughout, culminating in this beautiful two page spread:

But also I’m impressed with how Alan Moore is able to keep his cards close to his chest and not give the game away too soon. Yes this is a dramatic moment, but it doesn’t appear to be that significant on a first reading. When I first read it, I just assumed this assassination was a response to the growing hysteria surrounding the Cold War. I never thought it would come back to bite us on the arse in the last issue, but now I’m getting ahead of myself.

Another possible parallel could be with what happens to Rorschach. The two detectives from the first issue are given a tip regarding his location with the use of the code phrase ‘raw shark.’ Admittedly not very subtle, but the symbolism works regardless. Rorschach is the only one investigating this hypothetical ‘mask killer’ just as the pirate captain is the only one who can warn his family of the impending arrival of the Black Freighter, but their plans are scuppered thanks to the sharks.

Ah yes, now lets talk about Rorschach because we get a lot of new information about him in this issue. A significant portion of Fearful Symmetry is told from his first person perspective, accompanied by another excerpt from his journal. What I find particularly interesting is how Rorschach views himself. Secret identities are a very common superhero trope, but Rorschach takes it a step further, claiming that his vigilante persona is his true self while his civilian getup is his ‘disguise.’ He even goes as far as to refer to the Rorschach mask as ‘his face.’ This links back to what I was saying about the first issue where I compared Rorschach to Moon Knight. He’s so psychotically obsessed with vengeance and his absolute morality that he has no other life outside of Rorschach. Everything he does feeds back into his primary mission. Punishing criminals in increasingly violent ways. It’s pretty disturbing and not something superhero stories tend to explore. Daredevil and Batman might come close, but they’re always viewed as being noble men doing what’s necessary to save their city. Rorschach, however, is far from noble. Remember, he flat out admitted in At Midnight, All The Agents that he has no interest in saving people. He just wants to hurt those he believes deserves to be hurt, often for relatively minor crimes. The ex-supervillain Moloch has his fingers broken and then gets shoved into the fridge just because he possesses illegal prescription drugs and an unlicensed firearm, which, yeah, is very naughty of him, but he’s not actually hurting anyone. Does he really deserve the same harsh punishment as an attempted rapist or a murderer? Does the attempted rapist or the murderer deserve such a harsh punishment, come to that?

As I said before, this is a sick power fantasy for him, which the end of Fearful Symmetry confirms conclusively when Rorschach is arrested. He wears elevated shoes to appear taller and puts on a rough voice to sound more intimidating than he actually does. It’s revealed that Rorschach is in fact the homeless man carrying the ‘The End Is Nigh’ sign we’ve seen throughout the novel.

This was such a good twist. I honestly didn’t see it coming the first time I read it, and I love how Alan Moore throws you off the scent. Rorschach’s speech bubbles are wavy and he speaks in broken sentences without pronouns, whereas the homeless man has normal speech bubbles and speaks in fuller, more complete sentences. It’s great misdirection and the reveal is wonderfully executed. Plus it makes total sense. He’s the only background character to appear in major plot relevant scenes, which explains where Rorschach gets his information, and who’s going to suspect a homeless man of being a superhero?

There’s a lot more to discuss about Rorschach, but I’ll save that for the next issue, which explores his origins in great detail. For now, lets end by saying Fearful Symmetry is a gripping read that utilises its structure and narrative to great effect.

#fearful symmetry #watchmen #alan moore #dave gibbons #dc comics #review #spoilers

16 notes · View notes

fallen-gabrielle · 6 years

Text

The MLP comics are fine (and so is the extended universe)

I will talk about the comics and the extended lore the rest of the medias provide us with more world building. For those who haven’t read the comics, there will be major spoilers, so read at your own risks. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

Of course, there are Bronies who still consider the comics as non canon. Just like there are Bronies who consider the Equestria Girls as non canon. And same thing with the chapter books.

Others call all that the “extended universe”.

Me? I like Equestria Girls, I like the comics, and the chapter books too. OF COURSE THERE ARE INCONSISTENCIES (< that’s the main reason people don’t like the comics/chapter books/etc, which I think is stupid), the authors don’t have the time to check everything with the show, but they do their best (and especially vice-versa). The show writers don’t follow the comics (and the rest...) because they simply don’t have the time. The comic writers make sometimes references or even sequel to some episodes because they watch the show (show writers don’t read comics and chapter books).

So I consider the “extanded universe” as canon. I don’t care about plot holes, DC comics and Marvel comics have lots of those, and a ton of alternate universes too (reboots, earth-two shenanigans, etc). So why being so hard on the MLP comics ? I really don’t get it. If the reason the comics crush people’s headcanons, I’m sorry, but that’s a lame excuse.

I can understand that the whole “I can’t keep up with all of that” thing, but using it as an excuse for hating the comics (and others medias) is kinda dumb.

And because Hasbro said “anything that is said in the cartoon, it is primairy canon above any others medias“ is the source of many arguments inside the fandom. That and if they use comic books characters in the show and no one read the thing before, viewers would be confused by what’s going on.

I still think the MLP lore is well developped with the addition of the comics.

Let’s make a recap for what we have in the MLP medias (except the toy line):

The show;

The comics;

The chapter books;

Equestria Girls franchise.

Now, let’s see what kind of comics we have :

The main serie (Friendship is Magic, ongoing)

The Micro serie (10 issues)

Friends Forever (38 issues, replaced Micro Serie)

FIENDship is Magic (5 issues, released at the same time of Friends Forever in April 2015)

Legends of Magic (12 issues, replaced Friends Forever)

Ponyville Mysteries, “sequel” to the eponymous chapter book serie (5 issues, replaced Legends of Magic)

Nightmare Knights (5 issues, replaced Ponyville Mysteries)

The movie prequel (4 issues, released before the movie)

Annuals (somehow ongoing, you may never know *shrugs*).

Now, the list of the chapter books :

The “main serie”, featuring one character;

The Equestria Girls ones (even tho most of them are just book version of the EG movies and specials);

The Princess Collection;

Ponyville Mysteries;

Beyond Equestria, books that features one of the main characters with characters from the Movie.

Yup, that’s a lot.

With all of this, it is certain that the lore of Friendship is Magic was expanded. But alternate worlds in the comics are not the first alternate worlds the franchise has.

There are alternate universes mentioned in the show.

Remember the season 5 finale? There are SIX different timelines :

Sombra war (King Sombra wins);

Everlasting Night (Nightmare Moon wins);

Changeling Invasion (Chrysalis wins);

Total Chaos (Discord wins);

Ultimate Destruction (Tirek wins);

Industrialization (Flim-Flam win).

Each being actually CANON. They are just not the timeline the show is following. That makes them ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, in a sense (just like Flashpoint).

I know that an universe and a timeline is not quite the same, but it still parallel worlds.

So why rejecting the alternate universe that appear in the comics? If we consider everything canon, we have :

1. The Main Equestria (pun not intended)

I’ll call it Equestria 1, from the show and which has 6 different timelines. In a way, the timelines still exist as parallel worlds. So if using the right magic/spell, it may be possible to visit the alt timelines. I’m not going to arg about it like in The Flash, because science isn’t really used in Friendship is Magic, so yeah, don’t start the science talk about alt timelines in a cartoon with magical horses.

2. The Equestria Girls world

From Equestria Girls duh where everyone looks like humans. Sunset Shimmer, who is from Equestria 1, stays there because Hasbro don’t want to mix her with the main show (fight me, this is the real reason why she’s not back to Equestria).

3. The Mirror-verse (comics)

I know that TECHNICALLY every alternate universes are “mirror-verses” because the portals to every alt worlds are mirrors, but I call this one Mirror-verse because every characters are the total opposite from Equestria 1. All the good guys are evil, and all the evil guys are good.

In Reflection (main serie, issue 17-20), the two alternate worlds became so “close” that the merge between them could have destroy them both. The King Sombra from this world stored all the evil of the Mirror-verse inside of him to restore the balance.

Also, this King Sombra is in love with Princess Celestia from Equestria 1. Mmmh... Maybe that’s why people don’t like the comics : their waifu is actually taken (well, not anymore after Reflection). We haven’t heard of this alternate universe since then.

4. The Shadow-verse (comics)

Alternate universe that appears in Legends of Magic and the Annual 2018 (that is a complement to Legends of Magic). This is also the world the serie Nightmare Knights is taking place (see more below).

This is also a personal fan-made name for this universe : this is the one where an alternate Pony of Shadows (aka alternate Stygian) is superpowerful. He defeated his version of Starswirl the Bearded. But as a real power hungry villain, he wanted more. He tried to corrupted the Celestia and the Luna from his world but his Starswirl stopped him from doing so.

But between this moment in the past and in the present day, Green Pony of Shadows (yes, that’s how I’ll call him, because he has green fire/shadows) contacted his counterpart through his dreams: apparently, he succeded to corrupt his Celestia (his Luna seemed to be too weak to resist corruption). So of course, Princess Luna and Stygian from Equestria 1 decided to rescue Celestia of Shadow-verse. But soon they realise that Green Pony of Shadows is not in charge in this universe anymore. It is Eris (Discord’s cousin) who rules the place with the staff of Sacanas (staff used by the Storm King in the Movie). We don’t know yet which world/universe Eris is from. I assume for now she’s from the Shadow-verse.

This is the plot of Nightmare Knights. We already saw easter eggs to previous villains (including Grogar). There is a King Sombra who looks like King Sombra from Mirror-verse. Is he the same Sombra who travel to Shadow-verse or is he the Sombra from Shadow-verse and he just looks like Sombra Mirror-verse post corruption ? I know this is just a reference, but there are TWO Rarities : Nightmare Rarity and Rarity corrupted by dark waters. So did they come from Shadow-verse or alternate worlds where one is corrupted by the Nightmare Forces and the other one by the dark waters ?

Also, what happened to Green Pony of Shadows ? Should I keep calling this the Shadow-verse since Eris is in charge now? I don’t know, we’ll see.

5. Unknown Atlernate universe (TCG)

Yes, even the trading card game proposes an alternate unviverse in which Solar Flare/Nightmare Star (a corrupted version of Celestia) rules her world with an iron hoof. An alternate universe so horrifying that Starswirl from Equestria 1 had to destroy the portal so that no one will know about it (also, he probably didn’t want to see Solar Flare coming in Equestria 1).

I personally prefer Solar Flare over Daybreaker. I really thought that Celestia’s evil counterpart would be it but noooooooo, Hasbro don’t know everything in their own merchandises. They are the one creating inconsistencies.

The comics created a few controversies

1. Nightmare Forces controversy

The oldest question : which princess is the best ? Back then, we can only choose between Celestia and Luna. And of course, most people choose Luna for her tragic backstory.

In the second arc in the main serie (issues 5-8) Nightmare Rarity, the story is kinda the same as in episode 4, season 2 Luna eclipsed.

It’s about her acceptance of her past and stuff like that. What the comic brings and it’s what most Bronies are not happy with is the Nightmare Forces. So, according to the story, it would be an outside force that corrupts Princess Luna into Nightmare Moon. Yeah, no : using that excuse to glorified the character is lame. Making her a slave to something wasn’t well recieved within the fandom.

The arc is supposed to happen after the episode, that’s why it is a little confusing.

But the comic never stated WHERE the Nightmare Forces come from. And I think people have tendecies to forget who Luna is : an Alicorn. What’s the connection, you ask? Well in episode 13, season 5 Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?, Luna created the Tantabus, a creature for the sole purpose of punishing herself for her past mistakes. What IS the connection, you ask? SHE IS A FREAKING ALICORN, that means she has a magic more powerful than anypony in Equestria. If she was able to create the Tantabus out of guilt, it is possible she created the Nightmare Forces out of envy and anger. It’s like her magic and feelings created another personality, Nightmare Moon and when she was defeated by the Mane 6 and the Elements of Harmony, her evil personality and its magic (the Nightmare Forces) were simply rejected from her body/mind and went to the moon waiting to come back. That’s what happens in the comic. The Nightmare Forces took over Rarity because being a bearer of an Element, that makes the rest of them useless.

There is a rest of Luna’s magic in the Forces and they started to act as a whole new entity after their separation.

Of course, this is only a headcanon, but it is the best explaination I can come up with to keep the Nightmare Forces and Luna being the only responsible for her actions (instead of putting the blame on something exterior).

2. Deers controversy

In the show, there are deers who appear to be non sentient. They look like they are being enslaved by the ponies.

In The Root of the Problem (comic main serie, issue 27-28), the story introduce us to a race of sentient deers who lived in the Everfree Forest (they are kinda the elves of Equestria) with their king, Aspen, being the ruler of their civilisation.

Since the show writers can’t add characters from the comics because it would confuse everyone, we will probably never see King Aspen in the show. Not everyone follows the comics, and not everone follows every comics.

3. Seaponies controversy

See this for more details.

I may be the only one to think about it, but I don’t care.

The Umbrum and the Pony of Shadows

I won’t hide it, King Sombra is my favorite villain of G4.

So much potential and awesome look. I was a little disapointed with his lack of screentime.

So of course I started to have headcanons about him. I learned to not go too far with them because when the canon backstory has to be revealed, it will crush my headcanons. So I waited a little to know more about King Sombra. And I was blessed with FIENDship is Magic issue 1 !

This issue tells us his origin story : he is from a tribe/kind of ponies made of shadow and darkness called the Umbrum/Umbra (I actually don’t know the plural), the shadow ponies. These ponies represent hate and fear, they are the perfect opposite of the Crystal ponies, them representing love and hope. There is a need of balance : day and night, light and darkness, fear and hope, love and hate.

Now, while I was super excited to read the arc Siege of the Crystal Empire (main serie, issue 34-37), I have to admit that despite the good premises, the writing and setting were UNFORTUNATELY lacking of quality. The so called villainous league of second rate antagonists that serves NOTHING to the story, Radiant Hope’s character (the worst Mary-Sue I have ever seen), the part where Cadance (the princess of LOVE, btw) was able to use HATE magic without getting a headache (while when Twilight did it, it was hurting a little) AND IT WAS NEVER TOUCHED UPON IN THE LAST ISSUE !!!! Just like King Sombra’s character in the season 3 premiere, a big disapointement because of the wasted potential...

Despite all that, the issue expands more about the shadow ponies (I’m trying to cope with what I can, ok?). We see their true form:

Nightmare fuel

We know they attacked the Crystal Empire, leaving nothing but despair until Princess Amore created/found the Crystal Heart (Journal of the Two Sister) : the only weapon/artefact fueled with love and hope, the total opposite of what the Shadow ponies are, full of hate and fear. Since then, the Umbrum are trapped inside a prison, the Crystal Heart needs to be “refilled” with love every year (the purpose of the Crystal Fair) in order to keep the Empire safe and sounds from them.

A lot of stuff happened 1000 years ago, huh ? The Umbrum left nothing but DESPAIR. Keep that in mind, it’s going to be important.

The Umbrum were also mentioned in The Movie Prequel issue 4, they are well known outside of Equestria. I wanted to see this sign so bad in the Movie, because that meant the Umbrum were canon to the show, meaning the comics too. Alas, no such sign in the Movie :(

But that doesn’t explain where they come from, and you’re going to ask : “Okay, but what’s the connection with the Pony of Shadows? Because it is the title of this paragraph.”. I’m coming about it.

I think that the powers of Stygian, aka the Pony of Shadows, and the Umbrum magic ARE THE SAME/COME FROM THE SAME SOURCE.

Think about it. The Umbrum are the shadow ponies, and Stygian became the Pony of Shadows. Except the similar names, something hit me while watching Shadow Play, part 2 (episode 26, season 7) :

Pony of Shadows: [laughing maniacally] Welcome to the Well of Shade! When you turned your backs on me, I discovered this place. The darkness spoke to me of a power beyond any I could imagine, and I listened. The shadow and I became one. Soon, all of the realm will be the same. Then all ponies will feel the despair I did when you cast me out!

What if the Hollow Shades (the town where they are in this episode) was the home of the Umbrum ? They would have just travelled to the Crystal Empire for conquest or something like that (it failed, since they were trapped after they attacked), leaving the Hollow Shades empty. When Stygian was rejected by the Pillars, he was full of resentment : he tried to do something good but the Pillars thought he was just being jealous of their powers/status. So somehow, Stygian found the Well of Shade, and well, his quote says it all. It is possible that the place still had a few of the Umbrum magic and he was so resentful and full of hate for his former friends that he was able to channel the shadow ponies’ magic. It is even possible that the Umbrum looked more like Stygian in shadow form, and their famelic looking faces are just side effect of a curse/their fight against Princess Amore and the magic of the Crystal ponies.

So if we consider the comics as canon, many things can be connected and explained more in detail than the show wants to tell us. The lore just got bigger and deeper.

And it would be a shame to just stick to one media just because it could crush your own fantasies. If you don’t have the time, it’s okay: if one day you are bored, I recommand to read the comics : it’s worth it.

I spend my whole night writing this thing.

#fallengabrielle thinks about something #i spend too much time on this #mlp #my little pony #mlp:fim #my little pony friendship is magic #mlp comic #mlp official comics #nightmare knights #king sombra #umbrum #pony of shadows #stygian #chrysalis #queen chrysalis #changeling #alternate universe #parallel worlds #solar flare

40 notes · View notes

sleemo · 6 years

Text

Jedi master Mark Hamill geeks out with Bill Hader

— Interview Magazine Nov 9, 2017

From the time of the ancient Greeks, humanity has been fascinated by the struggle between good and evil, often led by an archetypal chosen one who blazes a path of glory by separating himself from the pack. As a young actor toiling between auditions, Mark Hamill’s moment of destiny came when he took a break from TV fare such as General Hospital to read for a role in a little sci-fi film helmed by a young director fresh off an Oscar-nominated hit called American Graffiti (1973). When Hamill was cast in the original 1977 Star Wars as Luke Skywalker, an orphaned farm boy growing up on a desert planet, no one—chief among them Hamill himself—knew that the film would become one of the most influential and profitable franchises ever made.

When the announcement came a few years back that Hamill would reprise his role as the Jedi Knight in J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), along with his original co-stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, fans went wild. But while Hamill’s screen time was relegated to a small appearance at the end of that film (Skywalker, in ascetic seclusion on a remote planet, is discovered by a young woman who exhibits strong signs of the Force), the second installment of the new trilogy, next month’s The Last Jedi, is squarely focused on Skywalker’s journey.

On a late September afternoon, the comedian, actor, and Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader (who was a vocal consultant for the droid BB-8 in The Force Awakens) called up Hamill from the Sony lot in Los Angeles to geek out about that iconic galaxy far, far away.

MARK HAMILL: Hi, Bill!

BILL HADER: Hey, man!

HAMILL: I’m a big fan of yours. My kids tell me that you came to my house before you were on SNL.

HADER: Yes! I was a PA on Empire of Dreams, the documentary about the Star Wars movies, and I came over to pick up some pictures of you. I sat in your living room, and I believe it was your wife who brought down the pictures, and I was like, “Oh my god, Mark Hamill’s so rad.”

HAMILL: Was I not there?

HADER: You weren’t. I didn’t want to touch anything, and the whole time I kept apologizing for my existence.

HAMILL: Were any of my kids there? Nathan or Griffin or Chelsea?

HADER: No, but when I first moved to L.A. in 1999, Nathan and I ran in the same circle for a bit. I had a friend who had a massive crush on him. I remember once we had to go to this bowling thing because Nathan was going to be there. [sirens wail in the background] Sorry, I’m robbing a bank right now. Hold on.

HAMILL: [laughs] I saw your tauntaun and Jabba the Hutt impersonations on YouTube. It’s a talent of yours I had never seen. I like that you keep alive the legacy of some of the actors that I love, like Vincent Price. I’ll be talking to people your age and younger, and I’ll mention Lee Marvin [Hamill’s co-star in The Big Red One, 1980] and a lot of them will go, “Who’s Lee Marvin?”

HADER: Oh, my god.

HAMILL: It just goes to show how fleeting fame is.

HADER: I remember I was at Comic-Con once, and I looked over and there was this long line for, I don’t know, the stars of some lesbian vampire series from Mexico, and then all by himself was [stop-motion animation and special effects master] Ray Harryhausen.

HAMILL: Did you go talk to him?

HADER: Yeah! I was like, “Oh my god, you’re Ray Harryhausen.”

HAMILL: He’s always been an icon for me. I was so into that stuff as a kid. I mean, The 7th Voyage of Sin-bad [1958] and Jason and the Argonauts [1963] and First Men in the Moon [1964] and on and on and on. I lived for that stuff. I got to interview him once on the floor at Comic-Con for Comic Book: The Movie—he was the quintessential gentleman of another era.

HADER: Were you always a fan of this stuff?

HAMILL: I was a total freak for these kinds of movies. As for getting the role of Luke Skywalker, I really stumbled into it. Just last year, I saw that they included our audition tapes as a DVD extra, and I saw William Katt’s and Robby Benson’s and Kurt Russell’s tapes, and they were all great. It seems so arbitrary that I was anointed.

HADER: Was it true that they were casting for Carrie [1976] at the same time?

HAMILL: When we auditioned, it was a total cattle call, where they didn’t even tell us about the movie—we just went in and talked for a few minutes. Brian De Palma was looking for actors for Carrie and sitting next to him was George Lucas. Since Lucas didn’t speak the whole time, I thought he was De Palma’s assistant. I didn’t know what he looked like! So I did my thing, and a couple of weeks later, I went to my agent, and there were six or seven pages of audition material for me. By the time I got the part, I assumed that Harrison Ford was the lead, because he’s a traditional leading man. I thought I was going to be his sidekick, you know, like Captain America and Bucky.

HADER: Or Batman and Robin.

HAMILL: Then I opened up the script, and at the time it said: The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as Taken From the “Journal of the Whills,” Saga I: Star Wars. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought, “How are they going to do all this?” Robots, the Death Star, all of it—it blew my mind.

HADER: Did you have confidence that they could do it?

HAMILL: You have to believe. But it’s always a little disconcerting—what you imagine in your head and what you see on set.

HADER: Describe a moment on set when you went, like, “Wait, these are the Sand People?”

HAMILL: The lightsabers, for a start. George referred to it as the most expensive low-budget movie ever made. At one point, Fox screened raw footage to some people, because they needed more money to finish it. Imagine it with no effects, no music, no nothing. The general consensus, because it played so horribly, was that they should just shut it down and take a tax loss. It was only [20th Century Fox executive] Alan Ladd Jr. who saw the potential and gave us his blessing. I think they gave us like a million and a half more. Do you remember seeing it when you were young? Did it scare you, or did you love it?

HADER: I remember going to see Return of the Jedi [1983] on my fifth birthday—the people tearing the tickets were dressed as stormtroopers—but the first image I can remember on a movie theater screen is that close-up from Empire [The Empire Strikes Back, 1980], of Han in carbonite. I flipped out, and my dad had to take me out of the theater. Then he told me the whole thing on the ride back; he was like, “Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s dad!” And that’s how he said it—not his father, his dad. [laughs] What was it like, back then, leading such a massive franchise?

HAMILL: It was kind of like The Prince and the Pauper, where one day you’re nobody and the next you’re partying with Andy Warhol. It was surreal. I came from a big enough family, so I didn’t let it get to my head too much or change my view of the world. The first time I went to the Oscars was like that, too. It wasn’t really me walking the red carpet. It was like watching a movie of a Hollywood premiere. You have to have an intellectual distance from it, because it’s so atypical from your everyday life. I’m sure you feel the same way. You can’t sit in the park and people watch anymore, that ship has sailed. Star Wars ebbed and flowed, but I never expected it to come back, certainly not with this intensity. Carrie and I were in Orlando, with fans. It’s just astonishing the passion and affection that they have for all of this stuff. It’s overwhelming. You can get emotional about it because it’s so personal, the way they relate it to their own lives.

HADER: Batman, too. [Hamill has served as the voice of the Joker in animated series, films, and video games, starting with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992.]

HAMILL: That’s a whole subgenre of comic book nerds who know that I’m a nerd, too. I’m one of them, so they love the fact that I’m not posing.

HADER: What is it like working with [Last Jedi director] Rian Johnson or J.J. Abrams, people who grew up with Star Wars? Is it ever weird to be told things about your character, when you know him better than anyone else?

HAMILL: With J.J. and with Rian, it’s the first time that the fan generation has grown into being in the position that they are. I was surprised in many ways how they saw not just my character, but the overall piece, because you get really possessive over the years. But Rian, what a blessing that guy is. He is unassuming and amiable. I’ve never seen him raise his voice. I’ve never heard him curse. I never heard him humiliate anybody else in front of the entire crew.

HADER: [laughs] When the first trilogy ended, did you feel a sense of relief? I know when I left SNL, it was a big relief.

HAMILL: It was exhilarating. It felt like senior year of high school. You know those last moments when you’re clearing out your locker? You’re going to miss all these people you know, but there’s the exhilaration of what comes next. It’s like jumping out of an airplane and hoping for the best, hoping your parachute opens. I was lucky that a lot of pressure was taken off financially; I didn’t have to do stuff that I didn’t want to do, so I indulged myself. I always wanted to do theater, so I did lots of theater. I got to do a comic mockumentary, and I wrote a comic book, and I discovered that the Joker gave me a whole new career. I didn’t expect to be the Joker, of course, but with voice acting, it liberates you to play characters you’d never do in a million years because you’re physically not right. You can show up looking like hell, you don’t have to memorize your lines because you can read them right off the page, and you get to play the most fun parts. You come in and you kick everyone’s ass and you get your own ass kicked, and then you go home.

HADER: I do animated things, too, and they’re so much fun. But do you get tired after a session?

HAMILL: Oh, yeah. It’s a real workout. But it’s so entertaining. It’s like going to a really great nightclub act and getting paid for it.

HADER: I really liked The Big Red One. What was that like?

HAMILL: I was a huge Sam Fuller fan. Within five minutes of meeting him, I went, “Holy Christ, I’ve been drafted!” He got up on his feet and he started telling me the story of that film, with the explosions and the rat-a-tat-tat, and I was mesmerized. He had such charisma, such magic. He was a firecracker, like Yosemite Sam. I was traumatized when it came out because, even though it got good reviews and takes its place among the great war films, it wasn’t what we all hoped for. They cut it down to an hour and 50 minutes, to the point where it was so incomprehensible. Now, of course, it’s been restored to its proper length. If anybody’s reading this and is thinking about watching the movie: make sure it’s the two-and-a-half-hour version! Not that truncated version. I wish Sam were alive to have seen that because that would have made him happy, and he deserved it. Like any great artist who is ahead of the time, he was not welcome in Hollywood at a certain point.

HADER: There was a great documentary about him called The Typewriter, the Rifle, & the Movie Camera. That was when I first heard about him.

HAMILL: Was I in it?

HADER: You’re not talking in it, but there’s a clip from The Big Red One in it.

HAMILL: Okay, yeah, I remember that one. I hope you and I get to work together some time.

HADER: That would be awesome.

HAMILL: I have been loyal to Saturday Night Live from the very beginning. When it first came on, I said, “We’d better enjoy this because it’s for sure going to be cancelled. This is only going to last one season.” So I started taping them all. I had no idea it would become such an institution. I guess we can both relate to getting lucky and hitting the jackpot.

BILL HADER IS A COMEDIAN, ACTOR, AND WRITER. THIS SPRING HE WILL STAR IN THE HBO SERIES BARRY, WHICH HE CO-CREATED.

— Interview Magazine

#interview #mark hamill #bill hader #star wars #cast #luke skywalker #interview magazine

169 notes · View notes

davidmann95 · 7 years

Note

You once stated the Fantastic Four were the actual best super team. Why is that?

Assuming there’s even a nominal need to explain it any further than “they were Jack Kirby’s main project for just shy of a decade,” or for that matter “it’s the team Ben Grimm’s on” or “they’re where Doctor Doom comes from,” it’s actually a little more complicated than it might seem, because it’s not quite a matter of them collectively being the best characters in comics. Ben’s right up there, and Reed’s great too in the right hands, but Johnny’s while fun still pretty one-note, and while Sue works in the context of the group, I still feel like after all these years people haven’t quite fully fleshed out her deal in the same way as the others. Pound-for-pound, they hardly match up to the Justice League. But a team is a lot more than the sum of its parts; it’s the dynamic, the context they’re framed in, and the scope of what you can do with them. And in those regards, no one else is even close.

Let’s cover the other major players. I like the Doom Patrol from what I’ve read (Morrison’s run and what there’s been so far of Way’s), but they seem really shifty in terms of lineup in spite of being a small group, making it tougher to build long-term stories around character dynamics, and most of their adventures seem to be them just trying to wrap their minds around what’s happening to them; like the Spirit, they’re the spectators, not the spectacle. The X-Men are…a whole piece in and of themselves, but long story short, as far as I’m concerned they’ve spent over 30 years coasting on a run that got by on trying *slightly* harder than its competition at the time and a strong if muddled central metaphor, with any attempts at doing anything actually interesting with them since then smothered as soon as they start to gather any steam. Ditto Teen Titans, without even the symbolic strength of the central concept; all they’ve got is the cartoon, and DC’s spent over a decade resolutely making sure absolutely none of what made that show work gets into the comics. The JSA is Fine, Just Fine, and Jay Garrick and Ted Knight are both great, but their integration into the main DCU was - aside from scrapping the multiverse - the biggest mistake DC ever made in terms of large-scale continuity reengineering, and aside from the pretty clearly failed Earth-2, everything with them for the last 30 years has been built on the back of that illusion that any of them are in any way anywhere near as important as Superman or Batman. I’ll cop the Legion of Superheroes might have more meat on the bone than I’ve seen, but I’m not willing to shell out however many thousands of dollars on archive editions I’d need to find out, and while I imagine the Defenders were great under Steve Gerber, that seems to have largely been it for them.

That leaves the big two. I’ve covered it before, so keeping it relatively short: the Justice League is the best team in terms of average character quality so long as we’re sticking to the Big Seven model, but because each of them is iconic and important enough that they all have their own stuff going on, the focus in their best runs is on big action, with character work necessarily taking a back seat. They try to shake it up sometimes with B-listers, presumably on the basis that that’s how the League was conceived of in the first place, but it never works; the minor characters in the beginning were elevated to the A-list by sheer dint of being on Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman’s team, and shortly afterwards the rules of that world and who was important in it were codified enough that you couldn’t really replicate that more than once in a blue moon with one or two characters. The Avengers meanwhile were originally more genuine B-listers - only truly elevated above that by the movies, or if you’re being generous Bendis - and as such the Avengers as a group was the most significant thing in any individual members’ life, turning it into a meaningful institution that made them more than the sum of their parts, while the Justice League has always been less than the sum of its own. But at the same time, while they can do more within the boundaries of being the big team than their distinguished competition, they themselves just aren’t as big a team, and can’t compete on those grounds. Maybe I’d have a different mindset if the Avengers were a big deal to me personally, but as far as the ‘classic’ members go, I maybe, generously, care about four or five of them at all.

The Fantastic Four on the other hand? For starters, they’re a pretty universally regarded perfect balance of powers and personalities - tough enough to get into some wild adventures but not so overwhelmingly so that they can’t be easily thrown in over their heads; arranged character-wise with personality quirks both complimentary and irreconcilable that let you just as easily show them hugging it out or at each others throats. But the deal-maker is that rather than a club, or a gathering of the big guns when they have time off from their solo adventures, or an after-school hangout, or a strikeforce, or a ragtag bunch of misfits, or about 938 backup dancers of varying degrees of quality lucky enough to have Wolverine and Emma Frost to carry them, they’re a family, both born and found, and moreover they’re a family of explorers. And that makes all the difference.

Obviously there’re other teams that work as families in reality or in spirit, but the FF work that way in terms of dynamic, even above their status as superheroes. Yes, if they hear about the Mad Thinker wrecking downtown they’ll go deal with that, so you can tell regular superhero stories with them. But at the same time, you don’t need any elaborate explanation to get them to the Savage Land or the Negative Zone, or even to Yancy Street; they’re as likely as not to head out there on vacation (or to stop Ben from tearing it down in the latter case). They’ll go do big, interesting things purely on the basis of going to do it together as a family, and when it’s a family that diverse in terms of interests and personal goals, that means you can organically throw them in a bunch of different directions. And because they’re science adventurers above all with superheroics as just one option on the table, that gives you all the justification needed to dish out any wild high concepts you like, on the simple basis that Reed’s interested and the rest will humor him if it means a fun afternoon. And when real danger finds them, they care for each other and argue with each other and worry about each other and keep each other on their feet the way family does, perpetually keeping the emotional stakes as high as possible.

So yeah. They play off each other perfectly, you can justify them going nearly anywhere and doing nearly anything, and at their heart they have the warmth and the bickering and the strength that comes with family. And Kirby threw everything he had at them, and they have Ben Grimm and fight Doctor Doom. That’s why they’re the best. And among Marvel’s myriad other problems at the moment, its world is always going to be the lesser and the lonelier for it whenever it’s missing The World’s Greatest Comics Magazine.

#Fantastic Four #Kirby #Stan Lee #Justice League #Avengers #Doom Patrol #X Men #Teen Titans #Justice Society of America #Legion of Superheroes #Defenders #Opinion

509 notes · View notes

amorremanet · 7 years

Note

top 5 movies? and why? no no TOP FIVE BOOKS

oh gosh, both of these are hard and my answers for them are probably so boring (they also come with the, “this is just how I feel right now because ugh, I am the worst at picking any all-time faves for broad categories”) — but!!

top “five” movies:

The Prince of Egypt — has some of the most beautiful art that I’ve ever seen, anywhere, and music that sticks with you, and it really shows the human drama and human stakes of such a classic story in ways that a lot of adaptations of Biblical mythology are afraid to do

Deadpool — because I’m garbage, the characters are great, the script is pretty good, and the movie makes me laugh. It’s not really a deconstruction (in the way that some people make it out to be, by way of justifying why they like it), and it’s not super-intellectual, and in a lot of ways, it’s like a giant #SorryNotSorry that makes fun of superhero movie tropes while continuing to use them (and there are some subtle ways it plays with some of said tropes and twists them around, but it largely doesn’t) — but it’s fun

But I’m A Cheerleader — is far from perfect, and I maintain that it’s actually much more depressing than the ending leads us to believe (I mean, Meghan/Graham and Dolph/Clayton get together and escape from True Directions and homophobic parents, and Meghan’s Mom and Dad at least try to do better by their daughter, but things don’t work out that well for anybody else), but it’ll always have a special place in my heart because it was one of the only lesbian movies that I had access to as a little gay baby

Female Trouble — I wouldn’t say that it’s the best thing that John Waters has ever done, just the one that I personally like the best, and I’ll admit that it’s probably an acquired taste…… but I love how it takes on celebrity culture in the story Dawn Davenport, and it gave us great lines like, “The world of heterosexual is a sick and boring life” and, “I wouldn’t suck your lousy dick if I was suffocating and there was oxygen in your balls!” It also has a special place in my heart as one of my favorite, “gay AND weird” movies

—which probably makes sense, given that it was written and directed by the trash king of being gay and weird

……like, seriously. My (best friend who I call my) brother once asked me, “So is John Waters gay or is he just really weird?” and the only thing I could think of to say to that was, “Yes, both.”

the “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy — which is totally cheating, to put three in here, but I couldn’t pick between them. I do think that Hot Fuzz and The World’s End are more fully actualized than Shaun of the Dead, but I love all of them, and the reason is pretty much just, “Because they’re good mixes of being hilarious and making me FEEL things” (……less so in The World’s End, for several reasons; it’s a lot heavier on the feels, to the point that you sometimes feel bad for laughing at the jokes, but still)

and books:

Good Omens (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman) — This book was my introduction to both PTerry and GNeil, after I found a cheap copy in an airport bookstore when I was about twelve and immediately fell in love. It’s funny, the characters are vibrant and engaging, and it played right into my love of screwing around with Biblical mythology.

I’m periodically tempted to list different books for both of those men (with PTerry’s probably being one of the Granny Weatherwax books, or Faust Eric, and GNeil’s being either American Gods or one of his Sandman books — because yeah, he’s done other good stuff, but I’m more sentimentally attached to AG and Sandman. Also, Preludes and Nocturnes has some of the only non-movie or TV horror that has genuinely terrified me, so)

—buuuut then I never do, because Good Omens was my first book from either of them, and remains my sentimental fave, even though I admit that they’ve both written other books that are, “better” or, “stronger,” or whatever

Dry (Augusten Burroughs) — There’s a lot of fair criticism to be made of Augusten Burroughs, and he’s been one of the writers at the center of the debates about truthfulness or lack thereof in popular memoirs (like, how much an author is allowed to condense things before it stops counting as a, “real story,” and how an author remembers things happening vs. how other people remember them), but Dry nevertheless means a lot to me.

Like, I enjoyed Running with Scissors and his novel, Sellevision (which were the other Big Deals in his collected works, at the time I originally read Dry), but Dry fucked me up a LOT when I first read it. It has continued to fuck me up ever since.

There are passages in this book that I can’t even be jealous of, as another writer, because they’re so good that they skip right the fuck past, “I’m angry and jealous that I didn’t write this myself” and into, “Holy shit, THIS is why I write, the ability to do THIS KIND OF THING EXACTLY with words, I need to go write something right now”

Also, it means a lot to me for sentimental, “I read this book for the first time when I was in high school, and it made me feel less lonely and sad and scared” reasons

Dynamic Characters (Nancy Kress) — This is by no means the be-all and end-all of, “how to writer better” books, but it’s a personal favorite of mine, for two reasons: 1. there are some things that Kress doesn’t cover about creating characters and doing better by them in your writing, but she’s still pretty comprehensive and offers some solid illustrative examples, multiple perspectives on this part of writing (not as many as she could, but to be fair, she only has so many pages to work with), and a good mix of “tough love” advice and gentler, more reassuring advice;

and 2. …it was the first, “how to writer better” book that I ever got my hands on. I picked it out specifically because I’d posted a completely ridiculous crack fic that was a crossover between Harry Potter and Sailor Moon, with a first-person protagonist narrator who was a hot nonsense self-insert power fantasy Mary Sue with no flaws and no nuance because, hey, I was 11.

And someone actually commented to go, “Hey, look, you have talent, but you could do better and one place to start is maybe with learning to build better realized characters” — so I picked out the Nancy Kress book and it seems like a really silly thing to call a turning point? But it was big a turning point for me

Death, Disability, and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond (José Alaniz) — okay, time for me to be a loser and cite an academic book. I’m also probably a cheating loser, since I just read this book for the first time recently…… but with that said? I’ve read a LOT of critical treatments of the superhero genre, some pretty good, others pretty bad (for example, I remain Perpetually Tired of Slavoj Žižek’s heavy metal Communist, Bane in Leather Pants bullshit reading of The Dark Knight Returns), and most of it somewhere in the middle

—but there’s this trend among people who write critically about superhero junk, whether they’re academics of not, wherein we act like we have to act like superhero comics are The Most Progressive Ever and oversell their sociopolitical impact in order to make them look like ~*True Art*~ That Must Be Taken Seriously (—and like, I’m not saying that they have NO impact on people at all, because that’s objectively false. But you also can’t try to claim that Superman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America comics are why the Allies won World War II)

(this is a pointless aside to note that I deliberately left the Goddamn Batman off that list, because while Supes, Diana, and Steve were all off punching Nazis, Golden Age Bruce and white boy!Dick were running around on the home-front, rounding up Japanese Americans and putting them in internment camps. So… y’know. There’s that.)

……or we have to take legitimate criticisms of problems in the superhero genre, both historical and current, and use them to go, “Therefore, the entire genre is pointless garbage that has no redeeming qualities at all and could never ever EVER be used to tell any stories that are worth telling, and frankly, you are all terrible, horrible people for enjoying it, how very dare you enjoy that X-Men movie or that Red Hood And The Outlaws comic, you’re basically a fascist now”

—which is hilarious, to me, because the people who write that sort of criticism almost always cite Fredric Wertham’s book, The Seduction of the Innocent (aka: the book that led to so much moral outrage over the allegedly very gay and fascistic, child-corrupting content of comicbooks that the Comics Code Authority was created), and they always go, “Well, obviously Wertham was OTT and totally full of shit, buuuut…… *argument that would not have been out of place in his book*”

So, one of the big reasons I loved Professor Alaniz’s book is that is does neither of these things. It offers some incisive, and occasionally kinda damning, critique of the superhero genre and its handling of disability and mortality, but he does so from a place of love and enjoyment, and never pretends to hate the genre, nor argues for throwing the whole thing out because it has problems.

Like, his underlying mindset is very much, “Yes, the superhero genre has a LOT of problems, but people could, in theory, fix them and try to get closer to realizing the full potential of what these characters and stories can do” — while never skimping on a detailed analysis of the trends and case studies that he presents.

Sometimes, I think he’s kinda reaching (and I, personally, never want to hear anything about Doctor Doom’s Oedipus complex ever again so long as I live, though it was validating to hear that my theatre kids AU version of him — who is a ridiculous mess, obsessed with taking selfies, and perpetually acting like he totally gets everything while missing some crucial detail, which is how he ends up thinking that Loki is dating Tony Stank [a suggestion that makes both of them want to puke] — is actually a valid interpretation of his character, based on some parts of canon)

Overall, though, my biggest problem with Professor Alaniz’s book is that he can be kind of a hipster and it can get a little bit annoying. Not enough to ruin the whole book, but enough that it does stand out.

Like, his chapter on Daredevil specifically analyzes an infamous Silver Age story that basically everyone hated — the one where Matt Murdock tells Karen and Foggy that he isn’t the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, but he has some heretofore unknown identical twin brother named Mike, who is not blind but *IS* actually that aforementioned costumed hero, and carries on a charade of pretending to be his nonexistent twin brother — and okay, we get some pretty neat discussion of how passing can work or might not with disabled people

…but you can still walk away feeling like his biggest reason for analyzing that story arc was less about its value to any part of his discussion, and more about going, “Other Daredevil stories are too mainstream, I care most about this one that was so infamously ridiculous that people have said even soap operas wouldn’t have done this plot”

Likewise, I’m not saying that there aren’t very fair criticisms to be made of the X-Men and how their stories handle disability in particular… but at some points in his chapter on the Silver Age Doom Patrol comics, Professor Alaniz seems to be less, “using the pre-Claremont Silver Age X-Men stories as an illustrative foil to the Doom Patrol, especially with regard to how Charles’s paraplegia is treated vs. how The Chief’s paraplegia is treated” and more, “using this discussion as a free excuse to bash on the X-Men for being popular”

To his credit, Professor Alaniz does kinda discuss some of the ways that the X-Men’s popularity might have been affected by the fact that things like their ableist handling of Charles make them feel, “safer” and, “less sociopolitically threatening” than he makes the Doom Patrol out to be (with a pretty convincing argument, actually)

He just doesn’t do it enough for me to feel like his “criticism” of the X-Men isn’t at least partially grounded in going, “Well, it’s popular, therefore it sucks” (—as opposed to my approach to them, which is, “It’s popular, and has a mixed bag of things that it does well vs. things it does that suck, but it does not suck BECAUSE it is popular”)

Anyway, good book, and it’s written in a refreshingly accessible way (it’s still an academic book and harder to get into than, say, Good Omens, but Professor Alaniz doesn’t make a lot of the more common mistakes that leave a lot of academic writing effectively incomprehensible)

and last but not least…… Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (we all know who wrote this, okay, come on) — because I’d be lying if I didn’t include at least one HP book on this list, considering how important those books and that fandom have been to the course of my life and to my development as a writer, and it was either gonna be this one or POA, but this one won over the other because I’m garbage

#coeur gris #memes for ts #ask box tag #mine: asks #opinions for ts #top fives meme #longish post//#coeur-gris

8 notes · View notes

thewednesdayclubrecs · 7 years

Text

Episode 1: “Origins”

The Giant Sized Wednesday Club! This first episode ran extra long, and included a lot of comics mentioned.

These are the titles mentioned by Taleisin, Amy, or Matt over the course of the first episode of the Wednesday Club. If people are interested in another post with further reading on the topics, creators, and characters mentioned this episode, I can create that as well, if there is demand for it.

Physical comics: You may have a comic book store near you! Comic Shop Locator Hater Free Wednesdays Your local library may have a selection of physical comics as well. Ask your local librarian (many of us are nerds in disguise!)

Digital comics: Comixology and Comixology Unlimited Each publisher may have comics online for sale, including Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, and more. Again, your local library! Many are part of services such as Hoopla, where you can borrow and read digital comics.

On to the comics!

Matt's origins: Giant Size X-Men #1, 1975: Wikia; Comixology

Amy's origins: Asterix Archie Comics X-Men Volume 2 (1990s): Note, I believe Amy says 36 and 37 here, but I believe the comics she’s talking about are #46 and #47, with the X-Babies on the run from Mojo’s hunters. Generation X #5 Wikia; Comixology Webcomics: Kate Beaton’s Hark! A Vagrant, Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics (he’s now writing Squirrel Girl, for one), (Note: There's a third whose name I didnt quite get here, David something? If someone caught that, let me know)

Taliesin's origins: (someone please, please illustrate Taliesin's weird mental images of the X-Men wow) V for Vendetta Wasteland (DC pre-Vertigo): Wikipedia; Comixology Vampirella Wikipedia; Comixology The Alice Cooper The Last Temptation, written by Neil Gaiman: based off this album; Comixology Sandman: Wikipedia; Comixology Jack Kirby’s Avengers

Fables: Wikipedia; Comixology

Rumiko Takahashi - Maison Ikkoku - Inuyasha - Ranma 1/2 - Urusei Yatsura - Rumic World horror shorts (hungry ghost) Tragically, outside of the big three (Maison Ikkoku, Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2), these are harder to find digitally (legally) than they should be by all rights. Your library may have them from the manga boom back in the day though.

Strangers in Paradise: Wikipedia; Comixology

America Chavez’s solo title

Cheung’s Young Avengers run: Comixology The Gillen/McKelvie Team Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have done a ton of comics together, including Young Avengers and others mentioned below.

She-hulk: Alternate-dimensional tourism from Dimension A (the A-Holes): Wikia; Comixology

Patsy Walker: Hellcat: Wikia; Comixology

The Boys: Wikipedia; Comixology (BTW some SERIOUS content/trigger warnings here. For real. I’m including this because they did.)

What comics changed you? Taleisin: The Invisibles: Wikipedia; Comixology Jack Kirby’s New Gods; Jimmy Olsen Adventures Sandman’s Death: High cost of Living: Wikipedia; Comixology Promethea Whatever Happened to the man of Tomorrow?: Wikipedia; Comixology (V for Vendetta again)

Amy: Fun Home: Wikipedia; Comixology (also a musical)

Chat: Legion from X-Men (and mental health stuff--more on this next week) Marvel Zombies: Wikipedia; Comixology (.....if this changed your life...)

Alias - Marvel Max (origin of Jessica Jones): Wikipedia; Comixology

Generation X (mentioned above): Comixology - According to Amy: "pretty good for, like, 20 issues, and then... a book I still dearly love for 50 more issues" - "like the New Mutants of the 90s"

Claremont's X-Men run: Wikipedia - As per the three of them: this run’s not timeless, they’re not exactly “recommending” it yet. They're going to curate some issues for us later on, bless them. Stayed tuned for those links.

LGBT+ in comics - North Star reveal of the 90s: Aplha Flight #106: Wikia; Comixology (We’ll talk more about this when we get to the specific episode)

Rocket Raccoon's origin on the Mignola run: I believe this is the run they’re talking about.

Show and Share: Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #68 "The Helmet of Hate": Comics Vine (Wasn’t able to find a digital issue of this...)

Anti-drug issue of Spider-man: The Amazing Spider-Man #96 (Comics Vine). Printed without the CCA stamp on the front.

Kamandi the Last Boy on Earth: Wikipedia; Comixology

Warlock #11 "The Strange Death of Adam Warlock": Comic Vine; Comixology

Generation-X (signed by Lobdell) #2 with Penance on the cover: Wikia; Comixology

The New Mutants #1: Wikia; Comixology - "the Generation X of the 80s" - characters were introduced in a standalone story/graphic novel: Wikia; Comixology

Uncanny X-Men #201 "Who Will Lead them?": Wikia; Comixology - battle for leadership between Storm and Cyclops

X-Men Jim Lee alternate covers #1 "A Legend Reborn": Wikia; Comixology; All four variant covers in one image

X-Men Vol. 2 #4 First appearance of omega red: Wikia; (Having trouble finding this on Comixology...)

Excalibur #71 with Dark Phoenix, Fatal Attractions finale with Nightcrawler foil: Wikia; Comixology - this and Maximum Carnage were Matt's first big collected works as a kid

Uncanny X-Men #139 "Welcome to the X-Men Kitty Pryde... Hope you survive the experience!": Wikia; Comixology - Uncanny X-Men #129, Introduction of Kitty Pryde: Wikia; Comixology

The Wicked and the Divine: Wikipedia; Image Comics - "none more goth"

If you like Saga: Wikipedia; Image Comics - Y the Last Man: Wikipedia; Vertigo Comics

- Runaways: Wikipedia; Comixology -- and then Brian K Vaughn traded series with Joss Whedon

Avengers Arena: Wikipedia; Wikia; Comixology - according to Taleisin, this book has more impact if you know the characters more, so maybe this is part of the advanced class in recommendations

New Teen Titans - Not sure which series is meant here?

DC Bombshells: Wikipedia; DC Comics

Tom King's Vision: Wikia; Comixology

Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan): Wikia; Comixology (vol 3); continued in vol 4

Iron Heart - Riri Williams (current Iron Man): Wikia; Comixology

Image Comics: Website; Wikipedia - Early Image is noooot so much Amy's jam The Walking Dead: Wikipedia; Comixology Savage Dragon: Wikipedia; Comixology Sam and Twitch: Wikipedia; Comixology

Faith: Valiant’s site; Comixology Star Wars: Rogue One (run-up was announced, but never happened... perhaps what was meant was the run up to The Force Awakens?) - “Star Wars comics got good”--They moved from Dark Horse to Marvel recently - Note: there are quite a few Star Wars series being published by Marvel at the moment. (In this contributor’s opinion, some are better than others...)

Not strictly comics: X-Men (’90s animated series): Wikipedia; IMDB; Sailor Moon (the 90s dub, aw yeah); Wikipedia Superman (1978): Wikipedia; IMDB Batman the Animated Series: Wikipedia; IMDB Tom Stoppard's Arcadia: Wikipedia; Powell’s Comics In Focus: Chris Claremont’s X-Men: Wikipedia; it appears that this is no longer available on Vimeo... The LARPosal On Youtube "cardio and pie" - which we should all apparently try a slice of cheddar cheese on? Battle Royale: Wikipedia; IMDB The Supergirl Show on CW: Wikipedia; IMDB The Tick: The 1994 series, and the 2001 series The Image Revolution (documentary about the birth of Image comics): IMDB, trailer; Streaming on Youtube, Amazon, and elsewhere. Pogs. Just. Pogs. God I remember Pogs. Where Taleisin's handle comes from: Executive Transvetite

Stores mentioned: Hi De Ho Comics (store) LA Golden Apple (store) LA Torpedo Comic (store) Las Vegas Box Lunch House of Secrets (store) Burbank, CA (where Amy works)

Next week Mental Health and Comics Legion: Wikipedia; IMDB; airing on FX; streaming on Hulu, Amazon

X-Men Legacy (2012) volume 2: Wikia; Comixology; Marvel

Moon Knight - Current run, written by Lemire: Comixology; Marvel - Warren Ellis: Comixology; Marvel - Bendis' LA run: Comixology; Marvel

Doom Patrol - specifically Crazy Jane - Grant Morrison's run (which Taliesin says is psychotropic, take that as you will): Wikipedia; Comixology - Just pointing out that Taliesin gave a content warning for this, so.

Note: mentions may or may not be recommendations. My personal recommendations sometimes differ, but that’s not the point of this post. And remember: it’s ok to not have read everything--or anything!

If I missed anything, please let me know! Episode #2 will be up.... soon?

#the wednesday club #recommendations #comics #geek and sundry #dc comics #marvel comics #image comics #valiant comics

6 notes · View notes

gokinjeespot · 6 years

Text

off the rack #1219

Monday, July 2, 2018

It's stinking hot out. I wanted to jump in the lake with the fishies yesterday. We drove downtown on Canada Day to spend time with friends and I lucked out on a parking space right in front of their house. The car in front of us pulled out shortly afterwards so I plunked myself down in that spot to hold it for another friend who was driving in from out of town. People were expecting issues with other drivers trolling for a parking space but in typically Canadian fashion, cars just slowly passed by as I was sitting there under my umbrella to shade myself from the hot sun. Only one car stopped, rolled down their window and asked if I was saving the parking space. I said "yep" and they drove off. I probably would have been shot if I did this in the capital city of another country on the fourth of July.

Hunt for Wolverine: Mystery in Madripoor #2 - Jim Zub (writer) Thony Silas (art) Filipe Sobreiro (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I like this story. Kitty and her team skulking around Madripoor trying to find Wolverine while being hunted by Viper and her very, very bad girls is right in my wheelhouse. Unfortunately the art turns me right off. Unless Psylocke is a midget, how the heck is Logan taller than she is on page 2? All the women's faces are drawn the same with angular features and almond eyes. Even the different hair styles and clothes didn't help to distinguish them. There is a surprise appearance on the last page that's an attempt to keep readers invested in the story but it is not enough for me to read the rest of this mini.

Old Man Hawkeye #6 - Ethan Sacks (writer) Marco Checchetto (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Clint is like the flu. Whenever he shows up things go from bad to worse. I love this dangerous future Earth where the super villains are in control. Old Man Hawkeye seeking redemption is a great story but President Red Skull trying to kill Bullseye makes this book that much better.

Multiple Man #1 - Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Andy MacDonald (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Yeah, I thought he was dead too. That's why I pulled this off the rack to read. Jamie died during the Terrigen mists killing all the mutants crisis but they have found a way for one of his dupes to survive that made sense. Then they go and ruin it by having this surviving Jamie steal a time traveling device. I loved Jamie when he was leading X-Factor and was sad when they killed him off. This one is younger and they've tweaked his powers with a big twist on the last page. It just might be enough to get you to keep reading this 5-issue mini.

Batman: Harley Quinn vs. the Joker #1 - Tim Seeley (writer) Sami Basri (art) Otto Schmidt (epilogue art) Jessica Kholinne (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Prelude to the Wedding part 5. Way to screw up the timing DC. This should have hit the racks before Batman #48 and #49 because what happened in those issues involved what happens with the Joker in this one. I had a sense of disassociation when I saw the Joker in the church while reading Batman #48 three weeks ago and now I know why. This screw up will be forgiven if Batman #50 proves to be a good read when it hits the racks July 4. I loved how Harley is drawn in this, even though my least favourite version of her is the Joker infatuated court jester. SOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ the New York Times article about Batman #50 posted July 1.

Saga #53 - Fiona Staples (art) Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Fonografiks (letters). Holy crap in a hat. This is a must read issue if you're a Saga fan. There are major deaths in this issue and that's not including what Brian's doing with all the letters the book receives. If he thinks thoughts of mortality invade in your forties, wait until you get to your sixties.

Sentry #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Kim Jacinto (art) Rain Beredo (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Sentry World part 1. I remember thinking that this super hero was just Marvel's version of Superman when he first hit the racks in 2000 and that his arch enemy the Void was your basic generic super villain. Turns out it's more complicated than that. The Sentry's alter ego sacrificed a lot to save the world from the Void but now Robert Reynolds finds himself in a dangerous situation. Jeff Lemire has taken a character that I didn't much care for and given him a story that I very much want to read now in this 5-issue arc.

Detective Comics #983 - Bryan Hill (writer) Miguel Mendonca (pencils) Diana Egea (inks) Adriano Lucas (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). There's a new writer and he's starting off boldly by introducing a new Bat-villain and a new super hero to join Batman's team of Gotham City crime fighters. This new bad guy has no qualms about killing so things are going to get intense.

Amazing Spider-Man: Wakanda Forever #1 - Nnedi Okorafor (writer) Alberto Alburquerque (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This new book stars the fierce warrior women of Wakanda, the Dora Milaje. One of their member has turned super villain, calling herself Malice. When she threatens a neighbourhood in Brooklyn guess who just happens to be swinging by? So it's team up time and they fight with a classic Spider-Man super villain under water. When Malice surfaces again she's going after the Black Panthers ex-wife. If Storm's a target then you know that the X-Men will be involved. Look for X-Men: Wakanda Forever #1 to hit the racks July 25.

Silencer #6 - Dan Abnett (writer) Viktor Bogdanovic (art) Mike Spicer (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). Exit Strategy part 3 or death in a diner. Talia al Ghul and Hope fight through a horde of Leviathan killers during lunch. It was disappointing that Deathstroke wasn't in there. The two new super villains are cool. I am looking forward to seeing what Cradle and Grave are capable of.

Moon Knight #196 - Max Bemis (writer) Paul Davidson (art) Mat Lopes (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Kudos to Paul Davidson for the mad art for this psychedelic story. Now that Maurice and his crazy collective have been straight jacketed we can see where Marc and his many personalities take us next.

Man of Steel #5 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Adam Hughes (art) Jason Fabok (art pages 8 -11) Adam Hughes (colours) Alex Sinclair (colours pages 8 - 11) Josh Reed (letters). Superman's fight with the big bad Rogol Zaar does not go well. He's taken to the brink of doomsday. By the end of this issue we find out how Rogol Zaar is going to destroy the Earth. Meanwhile, more clues are given about what Lois and Jon have been up to. You might want to review recent Superman stories to understand what's happening.

Marvel 2-In-One #7 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Ramon K. Perez (art) Frederico Blee (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The truth about Doctor Rachna's duplicitousness comes out at last. Plus Johnny finally learns the truth about Sue and Reed. What a revolting development this is. I'm still enjoying this book very much as Chip has come up with interesting ways to keep Ben and Johnny scrambling.

Thor #2/708 - Jason Aaron (writer) Mike del Mundo (art) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I'm growing to appreciate the new art style and can see subtle expressions in the faces. Mike's use of colour really enhances the action on the page. Thor and Loki join up with some allies in Hel to fight Sindr and her fire hordes. I had forgotten that Hela was no longer the Queen of Hel (was that in the movie too?) and Balder the Brave was King of Hel now. The surprise appearance on the last page will make the throne room in Hel pretty crowded.

1 note · View note

totesmccoats · 6 years

Text

Batman: Lost #1

A 78 year old Bruce Wayne reads his granddaughter a story from his adventures as Batman, the very first story: The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.

Except, this isn’t Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne was sent into prehistory, where he drew a bat on a wall in a cave, inspiring a tribe of followers.

But that’s not Bruce Wayne either. Bruce Wayne is Batman, and he is trapped in the Dark Multiverse, shown visions of the past, future, and alternate dimensions by the dark god Barbatos to break his psyche. Barbatos taunts Batman through these visions, telling of how Batman had summoned him from the Dark Multiverse, and how he had molded Bruce Wayne from the dawn of history to one day take up the mantle of the Bat and swing open the door for his conquering of the multiverse.

If you have the prerequisite knowledge to understand all the places in from the Batman mythos that this issue plays with and connects, then you will love this issue. Barbatos presents his unified theory of Batman as he drags Bruce deeper in deeper into his own stories, trapping him in inevitability. He breaks Batman by taking away his agency, his ability to prepare, his confidence in his own experience and memory. He confronts Batman with futility. And as readers, Snyder, Tynion, and Williamson take us on a whirlwind tour of Batman, from his beginnings to multiple possible ends.

The team of artists, Mahnke, Paquette, and Jimenez on pencils; Mendoza, Paquette, and Jimenez on inks; and Quintana, Fairbairn, and Sanchez on colors, give each iteration of this Batman story it’s own distinct look and feel, from the golden-age pulp noir throwback of the Case of the Chemical Syndicate, to the hyper digitally-effected detail of a possible future where Damien leads an army against his father. This book is gorgeous from cover to cover, as rewarding just to look at as it is to read.

Mister Miracle #4

Orion decides to hold a trial for Scott, and appoints himself judge, jury, and executioner, to find out if he is an agent of Darkseid, possessed by the anti-life equation. It’s as much a kangaroo court as it seems, with Orion forcing Scott to answer only in “true” or “false,” but nevertheless, Orion may be onto something. As his questioning becomes more and more leading, he probes into Scott’s serious depression, including his suicide attempt, and posits that he may be feeling as he does because of the anti-life equation.

Honestly, part of me would hate it for a comic that seems to be so sympathetic to the mental plight of those affected with depression to explain it away as a side effect of an evil god armed with an magic equation that makes you hate yourself; but also, Darkseid and the anti-life equation have always been a metaphor for our darkest impulses and weaknesses. “Darkseid is” the part of you that hates yourself and others. “Darkseid is” what causes antisocial behavior. And that’s why the heroes can’t let him win. At the least, you can’t argue that making depression a dictator god who hates the concept of freedom itself is undercutting what it actually feels like to live with depression.

King continues his streak of making comics feel surreally domestic, this time with the simple addition of a veggie platter that Scott and Orion pick from during the trial; and the image of the new gods, in full costume, squeezed together on a couch in Scott and Barda’s living room. And Gerad’s use of repetitive panels in a rigid 9-panel grid masterfully builds suspense, and smart use of distortion effects to emphasize moments where things get particularly tense or revealing, is a masterclass in doing more with less. Despite taking place almost entirely within a living room, this issue of Mister Miracle may be the biggest turning-point in the story yet.

Ragman #2

The demons – who call themselves the Ruah Tum’ah, Hebrew for “impure soul,” – capture Rory, and try to psychologically break him by pressing into his survivor’s guilt, so that they can claim the rags. But, with some help from the souls of his company, who are trapped in rags and who are the people that Rory feels guilty over surviving; he’s able to see past the ruah tum’ah’s illusions, and absorb them into the rags before they can hurt anymore people.

With the demons contained in his rags, Rory tries to interrogate them for information, but is told that doing so drains the power of the other souls trapped in the rags, which would mean losing his friends a second time – so he plans to get to the bottom of things using other methods.

This issue gives us a bit more explanation to what the rags are and how they work, and I always appreciate a story with some jewish mysticism in it; but the book’s biggest weakness continues to be a failure to tie in Rory’s PTSD with the rest of the story in any meaningful way, and also failing to give Rory much of a character outside of his trauma. Rory’s fighting outer demons, but so far his inner ones remain underdeveloped.

Miranda and De La Cruz are illustrating the heck outta this book, giving Ragman himself an interesting and creepy figure and ways of movement and fighting, but again, without a firm anchor for Rory as a character, none of it really coalesces.

Wonder Woman #34

Wonder Woman finally meets her long-lost brother, Jason; who was raised in secret by Glaucus (who, wasn’t an Argonaut. Don’t know why this issue insists he was.) to protect him from Hera’s jealousy. He reveals to her that he also has powers, including flight; and the two fly off his boat to a small abandoned island for some sibling bonding time.

When discussing family resemblance, Wonder Woman mentions how she wishes she were taller, which, given that she’s supposed to be a like, over 6-foot Amazon, doesn’t exactly track. Also, I really hope I’m not the only one who thought their discussing seemed to be a little too flirty for brother and sister, because I really don’t want that sorta thing to be projection.

Regardless, at sundown, Jason reveals that he was just keeping Diana busy so that Grail could set up an ambush! Because surprise, Jason’s evil! He and Grail manage to overpower Wonder Woman, Grail pinning her with her sword, and Jason promising to kill her himself.

Feels like this issue spent way too much time spinning its wheels before it’s Jason’s heel-turn reveal. Like, this is the first time we’re meeting Jason; there’s no way that we can learn to care for him enough in the space of 2/3rds of an issue where him being evil would feel like a huge betrayal. Either spend more time building a relationship between him and Diana, or reveal that sooner, you know? Really not the sorta thing you can half-ass.

The Flash #34

Meena is back, and Barry and Wally are happy to have her, even if Wally is still having a hard time trusting people. But Meena’s return isn’t all good news; she tells Barry that the negative-speedforce is killing him from inside, but adds that if she can study it, she may be able to find a cure.

The three speedsters go to the demolition derby so Barry can let loose and create data about the negative-speedforce for Meena to collect; but quickly loses control over his powers and becomes to scared of the repercussions to continue. But despite Meena telling him that sometimes losing control is helpful, she did get all of the data she needs; and promptly reveals that she’s been working with Black Hole the entire time by ambushing the Flashes with a small army. And then she steals the negative-speedforce from Barry…which, despite giving her more power, might have also saved Barry, so…yay?

Meanwhile, the rest of the CCPD inform Kristen of the mysterious new crime boss moving in on Copperhead’s territory.

There’s honestly just not that much going on in this issue. I’m not even sure if Meena revealing that she’s with Black Hole is even a twist, because I’m pretty sure we knew that a few months ago. Same goes for the negative-speedforce negatively affecting Barry. And the Copperhead turf war. Really, the only thing of consequence this issue happens in the last couple of pages, and even then, it’s more a return to status quo than anything else. And yeah, now Barry considers Meena an enemy, but before this issue, he thought she was dead so…I mean, alive is still technically better, right? After how much I’ve enjoyed this series, this issue is really disappointing.

Moon Knight #188

The new Moon Knight is off to an amazing start, and its first issue doesn’t even have Moon Knight in it. Instead, we follow Dr. Emmett, a psychologist at Ravencroft Asylum working on the case of a nameless man, Patient 86, a pyromaniac who burned his fellow army officers to death after they bullied and tortured him.

Emmett also has a preoccupation with Marc Spector, and believes that just as he was able to focus his multiple personalities through the symbol of Khonshu to become Moon Knight; 86 may benefit from a symbol to focus on, and chooses the Egyptian sun god, Amon-Ra. But she may have succeeded too much in duplicating Marc Spector’s circumstances.

This is one of the most novel approaches I’ve ever read for a first issue, but one that works incredibly; introducing new readers to the idea of Moon Knight by having his origin told by-proxy through the creation of a foil. Dr. Emmett doesn’t succeed in curing 86, only in creating a second Marc Spector. And by showing us what 86 becomes capable of, it hints as to the abilities and mindset of the Moon Knight that Bemis has yet to introduce.

It also helps that Bemis’ dialogue and narrative monologue are electric, lending Emmett an edge to her professionalism, and giving 86 a personality that gets colder as he identifies more with Ra.

Burrows’ art with Lopes’ colors reminds me a lot of Davis-Hunt’s work on Clean Room and Wild Storm, especially the way they illustrate burned skin, and red-haired women doctors. Sorry, too glib. The comparison is a compliment, and the issue looks great.

Ms. Marvel #24

Ms. Marvel is able to push the runaway train onto a different track at the last second to prevent a collision, but she and Red Dagger remain unable to stop it on it’s briskly paced run through Jersey. And while they think of what to do about this slow emergency, Dagger notices that Ms. Marvel seems exhausted, and not just because she just lifted a train. He suggests that she take some time to take of herself instead of everyone else.

Ms. Marvel checks in on the engineer, who lets her know that they’ve made the news, which reminds Kamala that she’s no longer Jersey’s favorite hero. But, looking at the railroad map of Jersey also inspires her with an idea to stop the train; guiding it to a hill-heavy corridor and let gravity do all the work.

It’s a great plan, or it would be if Ms. Marvel had factored in the speed gained by the train going downhill before going back up. But she’s prepared for that – mostly.

Ms. Marvel, the character and the series, continues to feel a little lethargic this arc, with the high point of the issue being when she’s forced into reacting by the train accelerating as it goes downhill.

The other bright-side to the issue is Olortegui and Herring’s art. Dagger describes Jersey as magical, and though Ms. Marvel is hesitant to agree with him, the art in the book; which illustrates America’s armpit with a golden-hour glow, and at a scale both intimate in terms of showing small towns, and sublime as the train joggs through open expanses of forest.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #26

I can’t believe that Ryan North and Erica Henderson have made me purchase a Jim Davis product of my own volition, with my own money. You monsters. And the first strip he illustrates is just the first Garfield strip, but with Galactus and Silver Surfer instead of Jon and Garfield! Vile.

Despite that, this is still a very fun issue, and I honestly hope becomes an annual thing. A bunch of bad-guys recently destroyed a library, so Squirrel Girl rounded up a bunch of her friends to contribute short comics to a zine she’s selling to fundraise for repairs. All but one of this issue’s ten stories are written by North; the other is written by Henderson, and each is illustrated by a different artist, ranging from, yes, Jim Davis, to Chip Zdarsky, Michael Cho, Anders Nilsen, and Rahzzah.

Each mini-comic is a burst of the same humor found in a typical issue, but from the perspective of this series’ unique take of characters from Spider-Man, Wolverine, Howard the Duck, and Galactus. There’s even a fake letter’s column, where Tony Stark and J. Jonah Jameson write in. It really is a treat, and a not completely cynical take on the resurgence of zine culture and small-press comics and stuff.

Injection #15

The Spriggans have opened the Cold House wide open, using it as a portal to this world to slaughter as many people as possible, but Brigid has a plan to stop them. It’s not the smartest plan, but effective: drive back to the Cold House, hoping the car continues to act as a faraday cage protecting them from spriggan attacks, and then slap a construction vehicle into one of the Cold House stones to break it.

Unfortunately, once that problem is taken care of, another one emerges. Maria tells Brigid that Morel has cut off FPI, making everything she just did illegal, and making her an enemy of the state. She and Emma decide to run to Ireland together, but surely that won’t be the end of their adventures.

Barring the opening pages of the spriggans indiscriminately slaughtering people, this really could be the last ten minutes of a Doctor Who episode, with the final pages especially tipping Ellis’ hand. It’s an issue long mad dash implementation of a plan that was made up as the heroes go.

Bellaire owns this issue, coloring the climax of the book entirely in three colors: black, white, and a light blue that make it one of the most bold and striking comics of the week.

Comic Reviews 11/8/17 Batman: Lost #1 A 78 year old Bruce Wayne reads his granddaughter a story from his adventures as Batman, the very first story: The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.

#batman #dc comics #injection #lost #marvel #metal #mister miracle #moon knight #ms. marvel #ragman #squirrel girl #the flash #wonder woman #zine

0 notes