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sataniccapitalist · 5 months

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Someone uploaded one of those viral “help identify this racist jerk” clips featuring a man accosting a street vendor with awful Islamophobic vitriol, and it turned out he was the former US State Department Deputy Director in the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs.

It sounds made up, but that’s exactly what just happened; Vice has a whole article out about it. The video was uploaded today, and within hours the man was identified as Stuart Seldowitz, who helped direct US diplomacy on Israel-Palestine from 1999 to 2003 and then served on the Obama administration’s National Security Council.

Seldowitz’s identity was confirmed by his former employer Gotham Government Relations, who released a statement denouncing him and saying they’ve ended all affiliation with him.

(234) Stuart Seldowitz Part 2: "If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn't enough" - YouTube

That such a horrible person could climb his way to the highest echelons of the world’s most powerful government — working on Palestinian affairs no less — illustrates an important point about the US empire and what it is. There are no barriers stopping such creatures from rising to the top of that power structure, just the opposite in fact — they get an express lane to the top. That’s why bloodthirsty swamp monsters like John Bolton, Lindsey Graham, Victoria Nuland and Elliott Abrams find themselves so intimately involved with US policymaking.

That’s the true face of the US empire, right there. That’s the empire at its most honest. Not dressed up in affable charm and slick PR work, but sneering and hurling racist invective at immigrants who are just trying to do their jobs in peace. Not performing carefully rehearsed faces of compassion for the Palestinians who are being “tragically” and “unintentionally” killed as “collateral damage” in Israel’s war of “defense” against Hamas, but staring right into the camera and saying “If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what? It wasn’t enough.”

Too many people look at Israel as something separate from the US empire, seeing it as a small nation run by a historically mistreated ethnic group that everyone singles out and picks on unfairly. If you look at Israel separately from the US-centralized global power structure, it feels off to have any forceful animosity toward Israel and its government, because it feels like you’re picking on the little guy.

It’s only when you see clearly that Israel is just an arm of the same empire that’s been murdering people by the millions around the world with nonstop invasions, bombing campaigns, proxy conflicts, starvation sanctions and CIA coups that you understand that, yes, Israel really is exactly as evil as it appears to be, and its behavior in Gaza is exactly what it looks like.

The US empire backs Israel for the same reason it backs most of the world’s dictatorships: because a globe-spanning empire can only be held together by nonstop violence and tyranny. Israel and other US-aligned states in the middle east are like the chair and the whip of a lion tamer — weapons used to violently abuse the populations of a crucial geostrategic region into compliance. It suits the empire perfectly to have a nuclear-armed government which exists in a constant state of war in the middle east governed by officials who speak English with American accents and interests which are reliably in alignment with those of the United States.

Stuart Seldowitz is not an aberration but a perfect manifestation of all this. This is the sort of mind which keeps the empire marching along from administration to administration no matter who Americans elect. This is the sort of mind which keeps the weapons flowing, the blood pouring, the fossil fuels burning, and the terrified screams which power the imperial machine continually erupting into the night sky.

#please share

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zahri-melitor · 7 days

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The current progress of my Post-Crisis 'to read' list. It just sort of keeps getting longer and I tag more stuff onto it.

Batman and ‘Tec readthrough 1990-2011 for the stretches I skipped due to lack of Batfam content

The Batman Chronicles, issues I haven’t read yet.

Batman: Shadows of the Bat issues I skipped due to lack of involvement in events

Pull the full 90s Showcase list and work out which issues still contain characters I care about and haven’t got to yet

Gotham Central

Finish Manhunter vol 3

Superboy

Impulse

Huntress 1989

Titans 1998

Teen Titans 2003

Outsiders 2003

Crisis on Infinite Earths (as I’m a maniac)

Infinite Crisis

Look at Countdown & 52

Vic Sage Question serieses

Richard Dragon serieses

Renee Montoya Question

Batwoman

Go poke at Black Canary vol 2 again to see if I bounce off it hard once more

Connor Hawke Green Arrow read

The Wonder Girl miniseries

Work out how to approach Wonder Woman

Find someone with an actual opinion on Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight to discover if there are any arcs in this worth reading or if my general impression to avoid it outside of specific recommendations/crossovers has been correct (I’ve read…crossovers. And LOTDK #100 for the Haly’s Circus retelling)

Babs Suicide Squad read!

Contemplate sticking my head into the headache that is reading JL/JLA (and then exit extremely fast, if I know me)

JLA: Tower of Babel (at a minimum while I read JL content)

A BUNCH of loosely connected Bat miniseries that I haven’t read

I should actually read Quiver, it’s on my shelf

Jaime Reyes read that covers his post 2011 appearances

Superman/Batman? Superman/Batman

Look, probably more Arrow content. Maybe some Flash content. Try to approach this sensibly by recommended writer runs rather than ‘I’m going in and going straight through!’

Continue with Wonder Woman (about to start John Byrne)

Do I go read some more of Azrael failson? I mean JPV is amusing in VERY small doses

Catwoman read, vols 1, 2 & 3

You still can’t make me read NTT

Actually get around to reading The Long Halloween/Dark Victory/When In Rome

More Ted Kord Blue Beetle, work out where I need to look

Checkmate 1988

Checkmate 2006

Martian Manhunter the Ostrander run

Hawk and Dove? Maybe?

Manhunter 1988

#crossing stuff off this is fun #but also it tends to have hugely ambitious runs to read on it

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absolutelynotsanebaby · 2 years

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Fic Recs! DC:

Fandoms: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Teen Titans (2003)

Key:

Character/Character = Romantic Relationship

Character & Character = Platonic Relationship

MCD = major character death

GDOV: graphic depiction of violence

Fics under the cut

Justice League & Justice League Unlimited:

“In Other Words, A Dinosaur” by larisse - Ao3, completed, two chapters, Bruce Wayne & Wally West, General Audiences.

"Could you stop moving around so much? You're distracting me, and we can't afford distractions right now,” Batman orders. He’s blowing past red stoplights at what has to be an illegal speed.“Aww, lighten up! It’s just a scratch. I heal really fast," Flash says cheerfully.Batman doesn’t seem convinced. “You’re bleeding over the dashboard.”

“Flash and Substance” by Kieron_ODuibhir - Ao3, completed, three chapters, Bruce Wayne & Wally West, General Audiences.

A guard approached, finally free to help with the maddened groupie, and Bruce waved him away and helped Wally up with a pull on the still-captive arm. “You are aware,” he murmured as he did so, “that you’re a woman?”

Wally blinked once, looked down, cringed at his own modest cleavage. “Wow, yeah, can’t believe I got used to this so fast. Maybe I had more important things to think about like Diana’s life is in danger!”

“But Nobody’s Counting” by BlackEyedGirl - Ao3, completed, one-shot, John Stewart & Wally West, Shayera Hol & Wally West, Bruce Wayne & Wally West, Teen And Up Audiences.

Five favours Wally did (or tried to do) for someone, and one someone did for him in return.

“Error” by This_Guy - Ao3, one-shot, completed, General Audiences, MCD (non-graphic)

Flash always smiled, even if there was nothing to smile about. Especially if there was nothing to smile about.

“the best all lack conviction” by poppiesandsunflowers - Ao3, one-shot, completed, Shayera Hol / John Steward, Shayera Hol & Wally West, General Audiences, MCD (Non-Graphic).

Shayera learns his name only after he is dead. Bowed under the sterile lights of the snapping cameras and the red eyes of the invincible Superman, a reporter from Central City puts a name to the unmasked corpse: Wally West, dropout college student, struggling mechanic, frequent customer to the mom and pop grocer three blocks down his street.

“Status Quo” by Belphegor - Ao3, one-shot, completed, Leonard Snart & Wally West, Teen And Up Audiences.

It had to be simpler in Gotham, Captain Cold mused. No villain there would ever think of bluntly asking the resident “hero” what was wrong when something clearly was. But the Flash was no Batman. Thankfully.

(reposting from FFnet)

“Alone in the Dark” by Settiai - Ao3, one-shot, completed, John Stewart & Wally West, Teen And Up Audiences.

It took everything Wally had not to panic.

“Between the Shadow and the Soul” by Thristlerose - Ao3, one-shot, completed, Shayera Hol / John Stewart, Mari McCabe / John Stewart, John Stewart / Wally West (unrequited), Shayera Hol & Wally West, General Audiences.

Three times Flash held Shayera when she needed it, two times she hugged him, and one time Green Lantern held onto them both.

“Sustain” by EiswolfZero - Ao3, one-shot, completed, Diana & Wally West, Bruce Wayne & Wally West, Mature, GDOV.

The End is close and Wally can't get it through his head that it's over.

“Villains” by Belphegor - Ao3, one-shot, completed, Teen And Up Audiences.

It would've been a quiet night at the Central City Rogues' bar if the Justice League hadn't fired that big laser cannon. But Captain Cold would never forget what happened after Weather Wizard ran in and shouted to turn on the TV. DCAU Rogues, no slash. (previously posted on FFnet)

“Plans” by Useless19 - Fanfic.net, one-shot, completed, Wally West & Bruce Wayne, General Audiences.

Batman had only gone to the Watchtower to fix a broken communicator. Unfortunately, Flash was spectacularly capable at derailing even the best laid plans. References to Eclipsed.

Young Justice

“Cynicism Versus Lead Pipes” by Juniron - Ao3, one-shot, completed, Barry Allen & Wally West, Dick Grayson & Wally West, Wally West & Everyone, Teen And Up Audiences, GDOV.

After a mission gone wrong, Wally finds himself separated from his team, detained, and with a Belle Reve inhibitor collar clamped on his neck. Powerless and at the mercy of faceless criminals looking for information on the League, Wally must withstand the brutality without his speedy healing from his enhanced metabolism until help arrives.

-----

Prompt: Collars

“Just Affectionate” by WritingEmi - Ao3, one-shot, completed, General Audiences, child neglect.

Wally doesn't get much affection from his parents, so he gets it from his aunt, uncle and the Garricks. However, when all of them leave for various reasons, Wally seeks that affection from his teammates and the other mentors, much to everyone's confusion.

- This is an old, old fic written for the yj_anon_meme community.

“Running Blind” by WritingEmi - Ao3, one-shot, completed, General Audiences.

As a result of the experiment that gave Wally his powers, he goes blind whenever he uses his super speed. The team doesn't know this.

Written for a YJ Anon Meme prompt many years ago: One of the complications that can come about from being struck by lightning is transient blindness and so sometimes, mostly while using his speed, Wally goes blind. That's the real reason for the goggles, they let him (kind of?) see during an episode. Somehow the team finds out. It lasts longer than usual, his goggles break, they find out during training that he's really good at fighting blind, whatever works.

“I’m Okay” by KitKat_Comics - Ao3, ten chapters, unfinished, Teen And Up Audiences, Child Abuse, Eating Disorder/Disordered Eating.

Wally's fine, really. Until he's not.

Wally's been keeping a secret for a long time, and people are starting to notice the effects it has on him.

“Contacts and Cookies” by Toast_19 - Ao3, one-shot, completed, Dick Grayson & Wally West, Teen And Up Audiences.

Wally West wears contact lenses, and as every person who wears such things it sometimes gets difficult.

Or: A story that was originally supposed to be about Wally and his glasses, became a set-up with some plot and a dash of general teenage angst. (Also a bit of shenanigans.)

This is a Gen story, could be seen as Teen. Crossposted on Fanfiction.net and Wattpad.Working title: Really? Glasses, YOU.

“Hemidemisemiquaver” by FallenUpStairs - Fanfic.Net, one-shot, completed, Dick Grayson & Wally West, General Audiences, child abuse (implied).

Now Dick knew that there were plenty of people who had hidden talents but he really didn't think that Wally's would be this.

“Our City, Our Hero” by Useless19 - Fanfic.net, six chapters, completed, Wally West & The Central City Rogues, Teen And Up Audiences.

Lex learns that the Rogues' policy of sticking together doesn't just apply to the villains of Central City.

“What’s Worse Than a Villain” by Ally Marton - Fanfic.net, three chapters, completed, Wally West & The Central City Rogues, Teen And Up Audiences, child abuse.

Kid Flash and the Rogues have always had a... unique hero-villain relationship. When their (emphasis on THEIR) 'baby' hero starts acting odd, and some unexpected things are found out, the Rogues take it into their head to fix it. Because NO ONE messes with THEIR Baby Flash. AU. Rated 'T' for Rogues' language, as well as mentions of abuse.

“Possession” by Ally Marton - Fanfic.net, twenty four (Including one alternative ending chapter), Wally West & The Team, Wally West & Barry Allen, Wally West & Batman, Teen And Up Audiences, emotional/mental abuse and manipulation, GDOV.

Wally honestly didn't know how he got himself into this one. But now he has a villain hell bent on keeping him for himself, and being an over glorified prize for eternity is far from appealing. Stupid witch boy.

“Age Of Heroes” by Velkyn Karma - Fanfic.Net, seventeen chapters, Wally West & Conner Kent, Mature Audiences, Zombie Apocalypse Au, GDOV.

The apocalypse has come and gone and the Age of Heroes is long since over. There's not much left to live for, but Wally's never been one to give up without trying, and maybe there are still a few miracles—and heroes—left in the world. A zombie apocalypse AU for the YJ Anon Meme. Features Wally and Conner, but other S1 characters make appearances too. Friendship only, no pairings.

Teen Titans (2003)

“Bad Company” by LilRedRobinHood - Ao3, twenty three chapters, unfinished, Dick Grayson & The Teen Titans, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Slade Wilson, Dick Grayson / Starfire, Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Barbara Gordon, Bruce Wayne & Barbara Gordon, Teen And Up Audiences, GDOV, child abuse, emotional/psychological abuse.

Deathstroke's son is dead and he demands an apprentice to pay off the blood debt--Robin, specifically.

While the already-grieving Dark Knight's investigation devolves into a self-destructive spiral, Dick clings stubbornly to his ideals...and somewhere along the line he might end up accidentally befriending his dead brother.

“Child of Gotham” by LiterallyThePresident - Ao3, five chapters, completed, Dick Grayson & The Teen Titans, Dick Grayson / Starfire, Teen And Up Audiences.

5 times Robin’s Gotham-esque behavior spooked his teammates

“Deathstroke’s Apprentices” by Beauty_In_Her_Darkness - Ao3, twenty eight chapters, completed, Dick Grayson & The Teen Titans, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Tara Markov, Dick Grayson & Slade Wilson, Teen and Up Audiences, GDOV, abuse.

When Robin agreed to become Slade's apprentice to save the Teen Titans' lives, he never would have imagined that he'd still be Renegade three months later. With the nanobots still in the Titans' bodies and Slade taking on a second apprentice, Robin is stuck as he tries to keep his friends safe all while plotting how to escape from Jump City's most feared crime boss.

AU of Teen Titans season 1 where the Titans don't find Slade's lair and don't get the nanobots out.

#dc #dcau #justice league #justice league unlimited #jlu #teen titans #teen titans (2003)#young justice #YJ #fanfiction #fanfic reccomendation #fic recs #Wally west #dick Grayson #<— rhey show up a lot so I’m tagging them #og post

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cccovers · 1 year

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Gotham Central #3 (March 2003) cover by Michael Lark and Noelle Giddings.

#gotham central #batman #comic covers #2000s #dc comics #michael lark #noelle giddings

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ultfreakme · 1 year

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Hey I saw ur earlier answer (cool hcs btw) & can u recommend some comics with gamorra outside of soke? I found the worldbuilding in soke very weak & thoughtless, so it would be nice to see its original conception, especially by non-white writers. thanks & u r the coolest blog in the shithole that is the jay nakamura tag & hv a nice day 😁👍

Aww thank you so much!!I’m so glad seeing people wanting to know more about Jay and enjoying his character(it’s been a long, long year of hate and microaggressions ahaha i’m in pain).

So Gamorra was initially introduced in the Wildstorm universe, and I haven't read much from that aside from The Authority. I believe it was introduced in WildC.A.T.s Vol 1 issue 5(this is the run written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi), and then we got more stuff on it in The Authority(2003-2004 run) and Cybernary seems to be the comics where its got some prominence in the story. There's a new DC Black Label run coming out called 'Waller vs. Wildstorm' which i believe is set in Gamorra and the new issue came out this month(Nov, 15). Gamorra never really got to be developed as much like Gotham, Central City, Star City, etc but the little I've seen is pretty interesting and sparse.

If all of that's too scattered, the Gamorra wiki page has the entire history summarized.

Thank you so much for the ask, hope this was useful, have a nice day!

#jay nakamura #superman son of kal el #the authority #gamorra #jon kent #SOKE #dc comics #dcu

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secretlystephaniebrown · 3 years

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The Question Reading List

Vic Sage/Charles Victor Szasz/The Question I

The Question (1987) #1-19

Fables

Detective Comics (1937) Annual #1

Green Arrow (1988) Annual #1*

The Question (1987) Annual #1

The Question (1987) #20-27

Green Arrow Annual (1988) #2

The Question (1987) Annual #2

The Question (1987) #28-36

Green Arrow Annual #3

The Question Quarterly (1990) #1-5

Showcase '95 #3

Azrael Plus (1996) #1

The Question Returns (1997) #1

The Question (2005) #1-6

The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage (2019) #1-4

Renee Montoya/The Question II

The Return of Scarface

Batman (1940) #475

Detective Comics (1937) #642

Batman (1940) #476

Batman: Knightfall (1993)

Batman Chronicles (1995) #13

Batman Adventures Holiday Special (1995) #1

Batman and Robin Adventures (1995) #21

Batman: No Man’s Land (1999)

The Batman Chronicles (1995) #16: Two Down

Detective Comics (1937) #747

Batman: Officer Down (2001)

Bruce Wayne: Murder/Fugitive (2002)

Gotham Girls (2002) #1-5

Gotham Central (2003) #1-40

Batman Adventures (2003) #16

52 (2006) #1-52**

Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood (2007) #1-5

Final Crisis (2008) #1-7

Final Crisis: Revelations (2008) #1-5

The Question (1987) #37***

Detective Comics (1937) #854-865 (The Question: Pipeline (2009))

Detective Comics (1937) Annual #11

The Question: Convergence (2015) #1-2

Lois Lane (2019) #1-12

Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey (2020) #1-4

Arcs marked in Italics are storylines with a large Renee presence, although she doesn’t appear in every issue, and is not the focus.

* Vic doesn’t appear in this issue, but it’s part 2 of the story started in Detective Comics Annual #1 and concluded in The Question Annual #1

** Renee and Vic are both in this story. 52 is a series with multiple plots, and while Renee and Vic are one of the main storylines, they are not the only one.

*** This is a Blackest Night special, but it is counted as part of the original 1987 series

#Vic Sage #Charles Victor Szasz #Renee Montoya #The Question #DC #comic recs #Steph Speaks #mine

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distant-wcrlds · 3 years

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This is the new main blog for the following RP blogs:

@gayrett-hawke (DA2 PC) 18+

@laimdalen-itellam (DA:I PC) 18+

@lovely-little-bull (Riordanverse OC)

@slayemal-na-nerate (Star Wars OC multimuse) 18+

@sweltering-in-central-city (Arrowverse OC) 18+

@empath-from-azarath (TT 2003 Raven)

@not-a-twilek (Star Wars OC) 18+

@guardian-of-gotham (Mixed canon Bruce Wayne) 18+

@not-so-artificial (GL:TAS Aya) 18+

Rules:

1. No explicit content. I am an adult, and I'm okay with some mature language and themes, but if it starts getting too far, I'll let you know. In general, avoid graphic descriptions of body parts and intimacy, but when in doubt, just pretend we're co-writers for a TV-14 show. For my muses under the age eighteen, this rule is obviously much stricter. Pretend you're talking to a younger pre-teen sibling (since I unfortunately know how inappropriate casual conversations can become in high school). Both of them happen to be asexual, so you can discuss that to an extent, but anyone who sends them sexual comments or asks invasive questions on the matter will either be given a warning or blocked on sight depending on the severity of said action.

2. No God-Modding/Auto-Hit/etc. unless we discussed it ahead of time. Of course, if I reblog an RP meme that invites you to hurt or control my muse, you can temporarily ignore this rule to an extent.

3. Please plot with me. I don't like going into RPs completely blind. We don't have to work out every detail, but I'd at least like to get the basic gist of your character and the type of plot you want before starting anything. If I have no idea what our muses' relationship with each other is like, I'm not going to respond to any starters you send me. I also reserve the right to turn down certain plots and/or characters I'm not interested in interacting with.

4. Please be patient with me. Between real life and other RPs, I may not always respond right away. I don't expect you to either. That being said, Tumblr is a highly dysfunctional app, and if you're worried that I may not have gotten the notification for your response or mention, feel free to PM me and ask! Especially if you notice I haven't been active on the dash; I can't count the number of times I've only seen a reply or something I was tagged in because of my addiction to dash-scrolling.

5. Please don't interact if you're below 18. This rule doesn't necessarily apply to following or sending asks to my underage muses, where there shouldn't be any NSFW content, or the occasional SFW headcanon that might get spread beyond the rp community, but I will block any minors I find in my notes engaging with my content for adult muses directly. For my own comfort, I will not write with any muns who are minors, regardless of our muses' ages. I also won't write adult/minor or large age gap ships.

6. Feel free to reblog anything from me except RP threads that you aren't part of. This is for my writing partners' comfort, and other than that exception, I couldn't care less about my notes getting clogged or reblog karma or whatever... I've literally had people reblog my bios and plot wishlists, which was weird but not upsetting. Although, on the topic of reblog karma, if I notice that you only use me as a resource blog without showing any interest in my muses, I won't block you, but I'm probably not going to be super motivated to RP with you either. When interest is shown though, I love being reblogged from so I can see how our muses relate or to send you asks as well!

7. Given that most of my blogs are for OCs, I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty OC-friendly. I'll RP with any well-written character that I can see my muses interacting with. For crossovers, I don't have any outside verses for my muses, and I'm not the biggest fan of multiverse plots between different franchises, but I'm definitely up for writing with AU versions of your muses as long as they fit within the world enough for me to not be distracted by it. For example, I probably wouldn't write with a Dragon Age version of Swiftwind from She-Ra, since animals don't talk in that universe, but I might be more open to it if Swiftwind were possessed, since there was a demon who communicated through an animal host in one of the games.

8. Please tag the blog you want to interact with when mentioning me. Hopefully, I'll see it eventually if you don't, but Tumblr tends to not shoe that I have notifications for this main blog unless it's for messages.

9. I write any length from conversational to multi-para. I'll generally try to match your length, but don't feel like you have to do the same. In fact, shorter responses are often less overwhelming to me for that very reason. I'm prone to letting the words take over occasionally, but as long as you give me something I can respond to, we should be good. 👌

Mun Info:

I'm not going to give out my real name, but you can call me pretty much any variant of my blog or muse names. Raven was a popular one on my old blogs, because she was my first Tumblr muse, but if you want to call me Distant, Hawke, Laim, Swelter, etc., go for it. I'm also giving Spook a try as an official online nickname if you want to use that. As mentioned in my blog description, I'm 23 and use they/them pronouns. I currently work full-time, but my hours are inconsistent, so my schedule is constantly subject to change. My time zone is PDT, so I'm usually running at least a few hours behind everyone else, and I don't have the healthiest sleep schedule. From my interactions with mutuals whose time zones I'm familiar with, though, y'all don't either. Please know that I mentally calculate what time it is for you, and I do get concerned that so many of you regularly stay up until 3 a.m. or later. I'm a hypocrite, but please sleep. 💞 That's all I feel is necessary to put down. I'm bi, ace, and enby if you really want to know for some reason. I'm also neurodivergent, but I'm not going to list my diagnoses if it's not relevant. I don't have a personal blog, so I'm not going to reblog anything I can't justify being related to my RP blogs in some way. This main blog is literally only for the purpose of listing all my other blogs, so don't feel like you have to follow, but you can if you want, I guess. Anyways, it's almost 3 a.m. as I'm writing this (like I said, I'm a hypocrite), so I should probably stop rambling and go to bed, but I look forward to writing with y'all.

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the-spinner-rack · 3 years

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What The Hell...? (by Michael Lark from Gotham Central #3, 2003)

#batman #michael lark #gotham central

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ufonaut · 2 months

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Is this just an experimental phase or are you the real thing?

Gotham Central (2003) #6

(Greg Rucka & Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark)

#gotham central #gotham central 2003 #renee montoya #crispus allen #greg rucka #ed brubaker #michael lark #dc #dc comics #lgbtincomics #dcedit #comicedit #comicsedit #u can reblog #crazy. crazy stuff

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problematic-faves-appreciation · 3 years

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Problematic Faves Cliffs Notes: Harvey Dent/Two-Face

Batman (1980) #329

Summary: Once a crusading district attorney that worked alongside Batman and Jim Gordon to fight crime – now the duality-obsessed super criminal known as Two-Face.

Harvey Dent also serves as a dark reflection of Batman's own struggles living a dual life with conflicting identities.

Main Goal: To enact his own justice whilst committing crimes.

Fears: Uncertainty, himself in general [the things he's capable of, specifically], losing control, his loved ones dying, his darker half discovering Bruce's secret identity [Detective Comics (2016) #1021], Renee Montoya's rejection [Batman: No Man's Land, novel], and the Joker [Joker (2008), only].

Mindset: Sees himself bound by fate and its will. As a result of Harvey's black-and-white worldviews, he considers his two-headed (scarred on one side) silver dollar a truly objective instrument of justice due to it only yielding two simple, 50/50 outcomes at the end of every coin toss.

"Some people go to the beach to forget their problems. They can watch the waves for hours. I understand the fascination.

There's a pattern – then there is no pattern.

It's the same with the coin. We want it all to mean something – we want to find the pattern – but in the final analysis, it's just waves."

— Harvey Dent, Secret Origins Special (1989) #1

•••

"He was always interested in the law – some might say obsessed. Man's law gave order to Harvey's world – they delineated the parameters of right and wrong, good and evil. They gave him something to believe in."

— Gilda Dent, Secret Origins Special (1989) #1

•••

Hugo Strange: Let's go back further, you were a rising star, a beacon of light for this city. A white knight riding in to save it with the Dark Knight not far behind.

Harvey Dent: You can leave him out of this. He is wrong. They all are. No one understands the beauty of fate's hand. I am grateful to Falcone. He gave me a clarity; a purity that few will know. Everything boils down to a simple choice, this way or that way, good... or bad.

Hugo Strange: Do you really believe that?

Harvey Dent: How could I not?

— Batman: Arkham City

•••

Batman: If you pull the trigger, how are you different from the Roman?

Harvey Dent: That's Jim Gordon talking. You know the system doesn't work. That justice can be decided like the flip of a coin.

— The Long Halloween

•••

"You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time... but you were wrong! The world is cruel. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased, unprejudiced, fair."

— Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

•••

"Life's a lottery, Holman. It's chance that decides who lives and who dies. Who gets cancer. Which kid is born with spina bifida. Who gets run over by a truck.

This [the coin] is what decides whether or not I blow your wife's brains out."

— Harvey Dent, Joker's Asylum: Two-Face #1

Teen Titans Spotlight (1987) #13

Character Traits:

🌗 Loving • Idealistic • Genuine • Principled • Resolute • Focused • Driven • Workaholic • Passionate • Eloquent • Wrathful • Obssessed • Brooding • Self-loathing • Black-and-white thinking • Dauntless • Fair • Honest (generally) • Man of his word • Learned helplessness (regarding the coin and his choices) • Self-destructive • Unpredictable • Hair-trigger temper • Can be persuaded • Charitable (depends on coin toss) • Takes his pain out on others • Self-enabling • Serious • Harsh • Intimidating • Vengeful • Physically violent • Self-aware • Conflicted • Feels remorse • Tries, but fails to improve as a person • Too Dependent on his coin • Fatalistic • Suicidal • Forgiving • Self-centered, but not selfish 🌗

Key Facts:

Harvey Dent...

• Had mental health issues long before his disfigurement [Batman Annual (1990 #14, Batman: The Animated Series - Episode 10, and Batman: Arkham City].

• His father physically abused him every day as a child. Christopher Dent used a double-headed coin to make Harvey believe he could "avoid" the beatings if the coin landed on the non-existent "tails" [Batman Annual #14].

• Bruce Wayne was his childhood friend [Rebirth universe & Batman: Nightwalker].

• Harvey "Legal Eagle" Dent was the top of his class [Secret Origins Special (1989) #1].

• Paid for his father's nice apartment [Batman: Two-Face (1995) - Crime & Punishment].

• Half of Harvey wanted to love his father, while the other half wished him dead. Despite everything, he tried to make peace with Christopher prior to the acid attack [Batman Annual #14].

• Never stopped loving/thinking about Gilda Dent when she disappeared from his life following the events of the Long Halloween [Batman (2006) #653 & Batman (2011) #712].

What's more, Harvey continued loving Gilda so much that he wound up murdering her second husband's killer in a pre-Long-Halloween continuity [Batman (1980) #329] because the man's death left Gilda grieving.

• Fun fact: The Power of Love helped him resist Poison Ivy's pheromones in the Dark Victory #11!

Begone, thot!

• Blamed Batman for what happened to him with Salvatore Maroni Carmine Falcone and the acid attack that scarred his face [Batman: Arkham Knight].

• Uses his coin to determine whether he should kill or spare his victims. Also, he has been known to perform acts of charity [Detective Comics (1942) #66 & Batman: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics Volume 3 (1969-1972)] sometimes.

• Loves and hates Gotham [Batman and Robin (2013) #23.1].

• Dislikes hypocrites [Batman: Two-Face (1995) - Crime and Punishment & The Spectre (2001) #5].

• Developed strong feelings for Renee Montoya in the Batman: No Man's Land storyline.

• Continued caring about Renee deeply, despite the events of Gotham Central (2003) #10 [Convergence: The Question #1-2].

Received training from Batman [Batman #653] and Deathstroke [Deathstroke (2018) #38].

• Has tried growing better as a person, but he keeps failing [Batman Annual #14 & Batman and Robin Adventures (1995) #1-2].

• Has re-scarred himself more than once [Batman Annual #14, Batman #653, and Batman: Black and White (1996) #1].

• For all his faults and crimes – such as nearly beating Dick Grayson to death in Robin: Year One – he has helped people [The Batman Chronicles (1999) #16], defended Jim Gordon from himself as Jim's defense lawyer [Detective Comics (1999) #739], cares about the women in his life, and keeps his word when the coin comes up good.

He is a complex character, period.

Other Facts:

• Has seen Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast" [Batman (1986) #397].

• Knows how to sculpt [Detective Comics (1986) #563].

• Owns a "thememobile" like Batman [Batman (1987) #410]!

• Likes baseball [Batman (1987) #411].

• Likes symmetry [Batman (1989) #442].

Smokes, but also doesn't [Batman (1994) #513].

"My own version of the literary reference mark known as a diesis – more commonly known as a double-dagger! My next pair shall strike to the heart of the matter!" — Harvey Dent, Batman: Two-Face Strikes Twice #1 – the words of a man who certainly reads a lot!

Batman Annual #14 & Teen Titans Spotlight #13 – A himbo he is not!

• Reads classic books such as "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" [Detective Comics #66] and "A Tale of Two Cities" [Batman: Two-Face Strikes Twice #2].

• Still finds putting criminals behind bars fun [Batman Gotham Adventures (1999) #12].

• Can speak Spanish [The Batman Chronicles #16].

• Doesn't mind hitting women at all. There are so many examples of this; Harvey confirmed it himself [Batman: Streets of Gotham (2009) #7], and beat up Jim Gordon's wife in Batman (1999) #572.

• Made a self-insert comic book in an art therapy program. Yup, he wrote and drew it himself [Detective Comics (2001) #753]!

Called it "The Adventures of Copernicus Dent and His Best Girl and Plucky Assistant R'Nee!"

• Plays chess with Batman [Gotham Knights (2002) #32].

• Has watched Star Trek [Nightwing (2008) #150].

• Fought and killed a werewolf [The 2008 DC Universe Halloween Special]. Yes, really.

• Was a cult leader [Detective Comics (2020) #1020].

• Rebirth!Harvey is now working as a jailhouse lawyer in Blackgate [Detective Comics (2020) #1024].

• Understands how binary code works, but computer geeks make him sick? [Robin (1994) #11] Yeah.

• Has kids. Twins! [Batman: Two-Faces Strikes Twice]. It looks like they're irrelevant.

• Remembered Renee's birthday and sent her tulips [Detective Comics (2000) #747].

• Has been a judge before [The New Batman Adventures - Episode 24 & Arkham Unhinged (2013) #11].

• Hates odd-numbers [Robin: Year One #2].

#batman #harvey dent #two face #gilda dent #dc comics #my posts #problematic faves cliff notes

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northoftheroad · 4 years

Note

Hi! I'm really sorry to bother you! But I was wondering if you could give us a list of recommended stories with dick after his Robin days. Like after bruce fired him and he became nightwing? All up to the time he had to become batman? I really love your content by the way ☺️!!!

Gosh, this turned out to be even more tricky than the Robin list, and it's frightfully long!

One reason is that storytelling has changed since Dick was Robin. Back in the Golden and Silver age, with very few exceptions, comics were stand-alone short stories. In later decades, it's usually arcs that span at least a couple of issues. Some themes can run for a very long time. For instance, Dick was brainwashed by Brother Blood in New Teen Titans vol 1 # 22 (in 1982), and that would have consequences until The New Teen Titans vol 2 #31 (1987).

There are also a looot of stories – apart from guest appearances, Nightwing is a regular/lead character in several books named New Teen Titans/Titans and suchlike, 1980-1996 and 1999-2009; Outsiders vol 3 (2003-2007); Nightwing vol 1 (1995) and vol 2 (1996–2007). In team titles, several characters compete for attention. Also, I have read and know the Nightwing books more than his team titles, so they will be more prominent on my list.

There are a bunch of stories where Dick has a pretty small role and won't be in a lot of panels, but those panels can be "important" and often quoted when it comes to Dick. For instance, Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive, Hush, Under the Hood...

So, you'll have to take this for what it is. A very personal list, with stories I like (and remember), or have some fun panels, or are "important". Because certain stories are essential to the character's history, regardless if you like them or not. (And if you want more of Dick with Kory/Starfire, read the New Teen Titans titles.) If you'd like to see a synopsis before you commit to reading – because did I mention it is a very long list indeed? – the dc.fandom.com wiki page will often provide.

(Or you could do the sensible thing, and see this as more of "the complete history of pre-Batman Nightwing, and ask somebody else for recommendations...)

The Judas contract (when Dick becomes Nightwing). The New Teen Titans # 39-40, Tales of the Teen Titans #41-44, Annual #3. (1984)

Trivial Pursuits. NewTeen Titans vol 2 # 32. (A nice breather, when the Titans try just to relax together. It goes as well as can be expected.) (1987)

Batman # 416. (First post-Crisis meeting with Jason Todd) (1988)

The Cheshire Contract. Action Comics Weekly # 613-618 (Dick helps Roy find his daughter.) (1988)

The New Titans # 55. (Dick learns about Jason's death when the Titans return to Earth after a long period in space. He goes to Bruce to talk and what follows is the infamous scene when Bruce hits Dick, says he should never have had a partner and tells Dick to leave and leave the keys with Alfred.) (1989)

Batman year Three. Batman # 436–439. (Flashbacks with a retelling of Dick's origin, during Bruce's third year as Batman. In the "now", Dick tries to reach out to Bruce and Dick's parents' murderer is about to be set free.) (1989)

A Lonely Place of Dying. Batman # 440-442, New Titans # 60-61. (1990)

The New Titans # 65. (Tim turns up at Dick's place to learn what it is to be Batman's partner.) (1990)

Total Chaos. (In issues of Deathstroke the Terminator, New Titans and Team Titans.) (Mirage, a woman from an alternate future and who has illusion casting powers, takes the form of Starfire and sleeps with Dick, who is shamed by his team members for being unfaithful to Kory, even though this is rape. So, an important fact to know but not something I would recommend to read.) (1992)

Knightfall Prodigal (Dick's first longer stint as Batman. And he takes care of Tim and the Manor on his own!) In Batman #512-514 and three other titles. (1994-1995)

Nightwing Alfred's Return (Kind of fun, when Dick seeks out Alfred, who left Bruce's service because Bruce wasn't taking care of himself, in London.) (1995)

Nightwing vol 1 # 1-4. (I don't love this, but it is a milestone in that it's the first Nightwing solo series, Dick momentarily decides to leave the hero business, and gets his by now classic fingerstripe suit.) #1-4 (1995)

Like Riding a Bike. (Donna checks up on Dick.) The Batman Chronicles # 7. (1996)

(Nightwing vol 2 began in 1996.)

Nightwing vol 2 # 6. (Tim and Dick talk and fight crooks.) (1997)

Nightwing vol 2 # 12-16. (Batman pays a visit and Dick makes his custom made car.) (1997)

The Flash plus Nightwing. (Dick and Wally on vacation.) (1997)

Then & Now. Teen Titans vol 2 #12-15. (The original four Titan boys find themselves fighting their past selves.) (1997)

Nightwing vol 2 # 25. (Tim and Dick talk and ride on train roofs. Dick has decided to become a cop.) (1998)

Detective Comics # 725 (A heart-to-heart between Bruce and Dick.) (1998)

The Technis Imperative. JLA/Titans #1-3. (1998-1999)

The Titans (1999) # 2. (The start of a new Titans team, Dick tells Superman to give them some room.) (1999)

Nightwing vol 2 # 32–34. (Dick at the Police Academy.) (1999)

Nightwing vol 2 # 35–39. (On a mission from Batman: To take control of Blackgate Prison. Afterwards, he recuperates at Barbara's when her place is attacked.) (1999-2000)

The Titans (1999) #15–16. (The original five Titans try to work out some difficulties.) 2000.

Transference. Batman: Gotham Knights #8-11. (2000)

Nightwing vol 2 # 45-46. (The Hunt for Oracle.) (2000)

Action Comics # 771. (Nightwing and Superman hang out and work together – what's not to like!) 2000

Gods of Gotham. Wonder Woman # 164-167. (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 54-58. (Blockbuster, Nightwing's main adversary in Blüdhaven, hires an old enemy of Dick's to deal with the vigilante: Shrike. A character from Robin Year One.) (2001)

Matatoa. Batman: Gotham Knights # 16-17. (Bruce adopts Dick.) (2001)

Who Is Troia? The Titans (1999) # 23-25. (A visit from the Titan's children from the Kingdom Come universe.). (2001)

Retribution. Batman: Gotham Knights # 20-21. (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 64. (Nightwing as Santa's elf.) (2001)

Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (in several titles). (Dick refuses to believe that Bruce can be a murderer and it causes friction with for instance Tim. Also, a big fight between Dick and Bruce when the latter says he is going to abandon his Bruce identity.) (2002)

Nightwing vol 2 # 75. (Flashback's to Dick's early years with Bruce. Plus the first appearance of Tarantula (Catalina Flores; a controversial figure in Dick's history, she straddled the line between vigilante and villain.)) (2002)

Hush. Batman # 608–619. (# 615 for Dick, but it might be confusing only to read one issue.) (2002-2003)

The Obsidian Age. JLA vol 1 # 68-75. (The Justice League members disappear, Dick leads a new team for a few issues. In # 73, Bruce is quoted:" The only time I ever feel pride is when I look at Nightwing. Sometimes I think he's the only thing I ever did right."). (2002-2003)

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day # 1-3 (Donna is killed. Dick is devastated and declares that the Titans are finished.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 80-83. (Deathstroke is in Blüdhaven to kill someone close to Dick. Bruce asks when he will quit the force, Dick wants to stay as a cop, but when he saves Amy Rohrbach, she recognizes that Dick is Nightwing and fires him.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 86. (Dick, forced to rest after being injured, solves crimes on America's Most Wanted and drives Barbara up the wall.) (2003)

The Outsiders vol 3 # 1 (Roy talks Dick, who dissolved the Titans after Donna's death, into leading a new team, promising they will not be a family.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 87-100. (Definitely one of the darkest periods points in Dick's life pre-Flashpoint. Tarantula breaks up him and Barbara. Blockbuster destroys his circus, his home and kills people just for talking to Dick. Tarantula kills Blockbuster and Nightwing is too exhausted to prevent it, and afterwards, she rapes him (# 93). Not necessarily an arc I would recommend to read, but fans discuss it a lot.) (2003-2004)

The Outsiders vol 3 # 11 (Roy is angsting about going back to the hero business after narrowly surviving being shot, sparring and heart-to-heart with Dick follows.) (2004)

Under the Hood. Batman # 635-641, 645-650, Annual # 25. (2004-2006)

Nightwing Year One. Nightwing vol 2 # 101-106. (I honestly don't care much for this story, but it's good to know that it's one of several retellings of how Dick became Nightwing.) (2005)

Supergirl (2005) # 3 (Supergirl has a huuuge crush on Nightwing... ) (2005)

Silent partner. The Outsiders vol 3 # 21-23. (Dick goes ballistic when he realizes Batman has been funding the Outsiders, Roy admits Batman has been feeding him information. Only it wasn't Batman – it was Deathstroke in disguise.) (2005)

DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy # 1-4. (2005)

Nightwing vol 2 # 107–117. (Dick leaves Nightwing, starts working for the mob and trains Deathstroke's daughter. I think the author has some kind of resolution to the crisis Dick had gone through the last years in mind, but Infinite Crisis got in the way. Blüdhaven is destroyed in a nuclear explosion.)

Infinite Crisis. (DC had planned to let Dick die, he is central to the story even if he's not very visible.) (2005-2006)

Targets. Nightwing vol 2 # 125-128. (Dick hunts for a day job in New York and gets buried alive, which leads to some retrospection on his behalf. There's also fights with a guy with a weaponized armour.) (2007)

The Brave and the Bold # 15. Nightwing and Hawkman. (Deadman, inside Hawkman, says that Dick Grayson is the one guy that every crimefighter trusts.) (2007)

Outsiders: Five of a Kind – Nightwing/Boomerang. (It ends with Batman telling Dick: "Go back to the good fight, Dick. Leave the bad fight to us.") (2007)

Wrath Child. (A story from when Dick was fairly new as Nightwing.) Batman Confidential # 13-16. (2008)

Freefall. Nightwing vol 2 # 140–146. (Dick starts freefalling as a new hobby; Bruce is not pleased. And he gets a new daytime job, as a museum curator. Oh, and there's Talia al Ghul, too.) (2008)

Robin # 175. (Some fun panels with flashbacks with Dick and Tim.) (2008)

The Great Leap. Nightwing vol 2 # 147–151. (Two-Face wants Nightwing to save a life.) (2008-2009)

Titans (2008) # 10. (Dick leaves the Titans because he needs to go back to Gotham and "take care of my other family." (2009)

Nightwing vol 2 # 152-153. (That time when Ra's al Ghul called Dick detective. And Dick packed up and left New York to move back to Gotham.) (2009)

Batman # 682. (Just for the line about how Dick made colour come into their monochrome lives ;-) ) (2009)

Detective Comics # 85, Batman # 684 (Dick mourning Bruce) (2009)

The Secret Six # 9. (Some of the members of the Secret Six feel they should be the new Batman.) (2009)

Battle for the Cowl # 1-3. (2009)

#ash-devito #Dick Grayson #Nightwing #Robin #Batman #Richard Grayson

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hellyeahheroes · 4 years

Note

Hi, thanks to your introduction post on Strange Academy I am getting back into comics for the first time in years! Now I have two questions. One of which is dumb so I'll ask that first. What time are new comic issues (for DC and Marvel) released? Every two weeks? A month? Two months? And my second question, a bit hefty, what are some of your all time favourite comics that you'd recommend to a 'beginner' comic reader? Thanks for getting me back into comics!!

Sorry it took me so long to get into this, needed some time to consider good entry points for various franchises. New issues of a specific comic book come out every month usually. While not unheard of, it is rare to have a bi-monthly, bi-weekly or weekly series.

For some good comics for a beginner reader:

Marvel:

All-New Ghost Rider - 2014 series introducing new Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes

Ares: God of War and Dark Avengers: Ares - a miniseries about my favorite asshole in Marvel.

Annihilation - Marvel big cosmic event that shaken up that corner of cosmos for a while. Had a sequel Annihilation: Conquest and two series spinning out of it, Nova vol.4 and Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2, all worth a read.

The immortal Hulk - Current Hulk series, more in the horror vein.

The Incredible Hercules - a more humorous book on exploits of Hercules and Amadeus Cho, 7th smartest man on Earth.

Journey Into Mystery - 2011 series by Kieron Gillen focuses on Loki after he died and was brought back to life. It happens somewhat in “behind the scenes” of events taking place in other parts of Marvel Universe at the time. 2013 Young Avengers series and Al Ewing’s excellent Loki: Agent of Asgard are good follow-ups to the book and Loki’s saga.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man: I don’t know if it is a good jumping-in point on Miles, but his current series by Saladin Ahmed is absolutely excellent.

Moon Knight by Warren Ellis and Decan Shavley - six issues,

Ms. Marvel - Kamala Khan comics starting with 2014 series, 2015 relaunch and current Magnificent Ms. Marvel series.

New X-Men: Academy X - I’m not big on X-Men, but this book is mostly focused on doing its own thing and dealing with new students.

Runaways from 2003 to now, benefits greatly from being a bit removed from rest of Marvel Universe.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man - a humorous series about Spider-Man’s low-level enemies trying to put on a heist.

X-Men: Legacy vol.2 - Was recently collected as Legion: Son of X. It focuses on Legion Charles Xavier’s son.

X-23 - miniseries Innocence Lost and Target X, followed by Majorie Liu X-23 ongoing and Tom Taylor’s All-New Wolverine, it tells a pretty damn good saga of Laura Kinney and her journey.

Young Avengers - classic series is a good new start for new readers, introducing new characters to the wider MU and easily lending into introducing some concepts from the rest of Marvel to new readers.

American Vampire - an out of continuity horror series.

Animal Man - an old series by Grant Morrison, but it still holds up great, it is equal parts eco-concious and mind-screwy

Batgirl from 2000 - starring Cassandra Cain, a great solo series, has somewhat os a slump in the middle, but the book still holds up great to this day.

Batwoman - Greg Rucka’s Batwoman stories in Detective Comics (collected as Batwoman: Elegy), 2011 series (before the creative team leaves) and Margueritte Bennet’s series are each very solid.

Gotham Academy - a mystery series set in Gotham’s most prestigious school, can be easily read without much of the knowledge of the rest of DC.

Gotham Central - a police procedural set in Gotham City, more regular-people view on Batman’s corner of the world.

Green Lanterns - follows two rookie Green Lantern Corps members, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz.

New Super-Man - a Chinese government tries to create their own Superman. Much, much better than one may expect from the premise itself.

The Sandman - an all-times classic, tale of Dream of Endless, master of dreams. Has a lot of spinoffs also worth considering.

Superman Rebirth - 2016 series which reinvents Superman as a father and husband, it is a good entry point for Superman

Planetary - set in Wildstorm universe, a team of super archeologists discovers lost history of the world.

The Terrifics - a new team forming from classic characters, with its own spin on some well-known franchise.

Transmetropolitan - one of my favorite books, entirely out of continuity., a quintessential post-cyberpunk that, to Warren Ellis amusement, seems to be coming true

Wild Storm - the reboot of the Wildstorm Universe, still holds up as a standalone title.

Young Animal Titles - a number of excellent books from imprint made by Gerard Way. While flagship title Doom Patrol may require knowledge of Grant Morrison’s old run on the title, books like Mother Panic, Far Sector, Cave Carson or Shade, the Changing Girl can be read without prior knowledge

- Admin

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zahri-melitor · 7 months

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