#tru reads comics | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

petrawood · 2 years

Text

Who is Jake Lockley? A meta/theory of the show

Fancy title is fancy.

Okay so after watching the finale I find myself having a lot of thoughts and feelings about Jake, as per usual.

So, to start with, I do not believe he’s evil, but I DO get the feeling he would be one of the antagonists (together with Khonshu, who is in some way the big villain in Moon Knight in general) if there is a season 2. In all his “appearances” (read: blackouts) and the end credits scene he has been shown as somebody who is cappable of great violence, so I get that for the moment, at first glance, he might seem evil. The thing is, I believe that season 1 has already left some groundwork behind to stablish where Jake comes from a little bit better, a groundwork that would propell his characterisation in future appearances.

More after the cut!

I will be talking about Marc and Steven as characters and one very important scene in the asylum and how it shines a new light onto who Jake might be, as well as his relationship with Khonshu! (This got long OMG)

Marc, Steven and false duality

The show seems to want to stablish Marc and Steven as complete opposites since the beginning, showing them struggling against each other, their identities clashing with each other (Steven in a pacifist, Marc has violent outburts; Steven is really intelligent and knowledgable, Marc has some amazing fighting prowess; Steven comes out as hopeful, innocent and naive, while Marc seems cynical and strict). This contrast in emphaticed to the viewers by making it seem like they are the only two alters, instantly creating an illusiory duality. As the show goes along we start understanding these characters, why they are how they are, we uncover their hidden depths and follow them in their discovery of themselves and growth as individuals. This way, we see Steven gaining confidence in his knowledge and skills and standing up for himself, to the point of downright antagonizing Khonshu and pressing him to make a deal that would leave Marc and himself out of the god’s grasp. We as the audience see how much Marc has suffered, his distante for killing and guilt over the death of his brother, how the grieves for his mother but yet how cappable he is of love, how much he cares for Layla and Steven, to the point of sacrificing himself for them (making a deal with Khonshu and abandoning the Fields of Reeds). We see him learn to express his feelings and grief and ultimately starting to forgive himself, thanks to Steven’s support.

So, what about Jake?

The thing is, by putting the focus of attention in Marc and Steven and therefore manufacturing this false duality (since their differences are not at all that extreme), the show has made us forget that there are not only two alters, there are three. Intellectually, we know that Jake is there, but since we don’t really get to meet him, we never get to figure out his place in the narrative and, most importantly, in the system.

Now, right after watching the after-credits scene, I started thinking, and there was one particular scene that popped to my mind quite quickly.

The Asylum and Marc’s fears

Remember the asylum? I have seem some people theorice that, taking inspiration from the comics (Lemire’s run, spoilers!), the one behind Marc’s vision of a mental hospital might have been Khonshu, manipulating him by making him doubt his reality. I personally do not agree with this theory, since the asylum only started appearing once Marc and Steven had been shot. I believe it is what it is stated to be in the show: how the Duat presents itself to feel more “comfortable” and familiar to Marc and Steven, plain and simple, no trickery to be found. Therefore, since the Duat seems to feed off the dead traveller’s mind, I think that the scenes between both Marc and Steven and Doctor Harrow are simply manifestations of Marc’s mind (since he’s the most exceptic one and also has the most selfhate), putting every single detail into doubt and repeatting over and over again that he must be crazy, that he cannot trust his own senses and experiences, etc (remember, Marc is the one that shows more resistance to accepting himself and his DID, it takes being possessed by Khonshu and Harrow taking advance of the stigma afaints mental illnesses to get him to admit that he needs help). Therefore, I think that Doctor Harrow could be interpreted and his own self-doubts and hatred, throwing againts him(self) the things that he’s the most insecure and afraid of, although they do make him face them head-front (”is this real? you are just denying reality. You have to face your fears- which is actually helfpul-. Maybe that’s why Steven knows inmmediality that it is an illusion, might even explain why Steven doesn’t have a room of his own: “when danger is near, Steven Grant has no fear”, he doesn’t grown afraid, he is not fearful of not knowing his own reality or facing a painful reality, he always pushes through). That’s the reason why both Marc and Steven see Harrow’s bloody footsteps, refuse to listen to him and “wake up” from the room, Marc has learnt to forgive himself and see his self-hatred for what it is: a deception created to hurt himself, but not a reflection of reality.

Taking this into account, and keeping in mind that according to this theory Doctor Harrow’s words are Marc’s hidden fears, I think this scene is VERY interesting:

(Image description: Marc staring at the water inside a cup and then at Doctor Harrow with a look of slight sadness and fear on his face, Doctor Harrow saying “do you think you created Steven to hide from all the awful things you feel you’ve done in your life, or do you think Steven created Marc to punish the world for what your mother did to you?”)

I think that the answer to this question is neither, and both at the same time, just that it doesn’t apply to Steven, but to Jake.

Marc is perfectly aware of who Steven is and what he means to him, he has said to multiple times. He wants to see Steven life a happy, normal life, he loves his hope and how he was always there for him, he wants to protect him and hide him from hurt. He doesn’t fit at all the topic of the question.

But, and Jake? Where does Jake come from? And how does Harrow’s question apply to him?

Lets look at the evidence.

Who is Jake

What have we seen Jake do over and over again? When has he appeared? When Steven and Marc are in extreme danger, and probably about to die (when Harrow’s thugs attacked Steven, the car chase, when Marc faced off against those guys at Cairo, when Harrow was siphoning Khonshu’s power). I believe that Jake, as a lot of people have said, is a protector alter, which, according to did-research.org (which I hope is a good source, please correct me if I use missinformation!) are “alters that protect the body, system, host, core, or other specific alters or groups of alters. Physical protectors might take or try to prevent physical abuse or become aggressive in an attempt to defend against physical abuse”. I believe that every single time Jake has appeared, he has been both preventing either Steven or Marc from dying and actually going one step further and trying to put them out of harm’s way (taking the cab back to the airport in Cairo, leaving the military during Marc’s fugue state and generally killing every one that might be a danger). He’s trying to protect the other alters, not just being mindlessly violent.

Now, the speculation (and actual link to the question, yay!) starts.

Marc absolutely hates killing. While it hasn’t been said outright, he mourns over a room full of his targets saying that he remembers every single one of their faces. He says that, after one point, he wished that one of them might finally kill him instead. He also hates seeing people die, he’s driven to the point of desperation during his time as a mercenary, reaching a peak when he’s unable to protect Layla’s father and the rest of his team from dying. During the finale, we see him choosing to preserve a life, even if it is Harrrow’s, rather than take it.

“do you think you created Steven Jake to hide from all the awful things you feel you’ve done in your life?”

Yes! Jake is the one who, when worst comes to worst and the only way out is to eliminate, to erradicate the danger, takes over and starts shooting. He is the shield between Marc and all the bodies he has had to leave behind, eventually shouldering the responsability to get blood on his hands and therefore sparing Marc and Steven from having to take a life.

But also, what other fear did Marc’s subconscious, in the form of Doctor Harrow, throw at him? What other part of his being was he refusing to face?

“or do you think Steven you created Marc Jake to punish the world for what your mother did to you?”

And here it is, the dark reality that Marc is hiding, probably the reason why he (together with Steven) he refuses to investigate who is the one fronting and killing their enemies during their blackouts. The reason why Jake is so vicious. The reason why, after the finale, Jake is still working with Khonshu.

Who is Khonshu? In the comics (and, according to Wikipedia, the real Khonsu) he’s the God of the Moon, with epipeths as "Embracer," "Pathfinder," and "Defender", he’s the god of those who travel at night, their protector. In the show, while his nature as god of the moon and night sky is more than proven, there is a huge emphasis of another of his aspects: that of vengeance, played as opposite of Ammit and her preventive condemn. Khonshu, through his Fist, punishes those that have done wrong (specifically against travellers of the night).

(Image description: Marc hesitates before striking the final blow on Harrow, meanwhile Khonsu says “the choice is vengeance”)

Jake is a traveller and a pathfinder through his job as a cab (limo now) driver, he is Marc and Steven’s Protector by taking the need to spill blood upon himself, but Jake is also the person who punishes the world for what your Marc’s mother did to you him” Jake is Marc’s Vengeance.

And that’s why he keeps working with Khonshu, that’s why, while both Marc and Steven have managed to grow past their roles and go on with their life, Jake is still keeping the deal with Khonshu. He hasn’t appeared on the show, he hasn’t experienced the same character development as the other two alters, he’s still stuck is his initial, bloody role as protector and avenger.

What Jake’s future might be

Taking all of this into account, I believe that in future works Jake is going to go through the same journey that both Steven and Marc have experienced this season. He is going to face the place where he comes from, how he perceives himself and his role, he’s going to grow into his individuality and needs. I personally think that one of the themes of this finale is going to be crucial, a theme that Layla, Marc, Steven and Khonshu fight for: choice. The hability to choose for yourself who you want to be, what you want to do, the hability to be your own master, freedom. I think that, taking into account that right now he is still under Khonshu’s comand, Jake’s right to chose for himself and his freedom are going to play a huge role in his character arc.

Obviously, at the beginning he is going to be an antagonistic figure, but I think that after reading this meta it can be said that Jake is not, by himself, a bad person. He just wants to protect Marc and Steven, to fight for them. He’s the one who is willing to get the work done when it’s too much even for Marc, he’s the one who retaliates after the evils inflicted on the other two alters and the travellers, their avengers. I think his arc would consist on learning to trust Marc and Steven and their strength, as well as losing the vicciousness and desensibilitation to violence that so many years of putting himself on the front line have made him grow used to. And I, for one, cannot wait to see him do it.

Anyways, thanks for reading! I hope you liked my theory/meta, if you have anything to add please do so! Moon Knight has really become one of my fav media (comics and show) and would love to hear your thoughts about it!

#Moon Knight #marc spector #steven grant #jake lockley #moon knight spoilers #moon knight meta #moon knight theory #khonshu #Jake has really become one of my blorbos uh #oscar isaac

147 notes · View notes

freddieslater · 2 years

Text

Stranger Things: Elmax | Eleven Hopper x Max Mayfield

"I've been excited for this all week," Max admits, doing up the laces on her roller skate with a flash of a grin at El. "I haven't been skating in ages. Maybe not since I was last in California, actually."

El smiles at her enthusiasm. Truthfully, she'd been nervous about her coming to visit her. For many reasons. One of them being that it's coming up to a year since Billy's death and she figured that her being in California might bring up bad memories. Another being the possibility of Max seeing through the lies El told about having friends.

But now that they're here, that Max is here with her, she can't find a reason to worry. It's like they're back in her room at the cabin, reading comic books and playing with the bottle. She's heard there's another game that invovles spinning a bottle but it sounds different to the one they played. Perhaps she should suggest it to Max later.

"Hey, you okay?" Max rests a hand on her arm. "Are you nervous? You said you've done this before."

El takes a deep breath and tries to fix her expression. She places her hand on top of Max's and shakes her head.

"I'm okay," she says, and it doesn't feel like a lie. "Now that you're here. I'm not nervous."

Max makes a face -- big eyes, a little line between her eyebrows, and a smile that almost looks sad to El. But she puts her other hand on top of El's and connects their fingers tightly together.

"I'm here now. And we're going to have a great time," she promises.

She turns to her right to look over at Will and Mike, in their own little bubble, doing up their skates. El doesn't think she's seen Will so happy like this in a while. Maybe not since they left Hawkins.

Turning back to her, Max rolls her eyes and says, "Boys."

Then she stands, still holding El's hand, and guides her to her feet as well. It's hard not to fall over in the skates but El does her best to look confident as Max gently but knowingly pulls her further into the room, practically skating backwards as she makes sure she's okay at the same time.

It's actually not so bad. It's like when Max tried to teach her how to use her skateboard. Scary and a little but unsteady, but with Max holding onto her, it's not so hard to get the hang of it.

Soon, they're laughing and holding onto each other for dear life as they race around the room, trying not to collide with anyone else. A few times they pass Will and Mike, who are doing almost the exact same thing, only without holding hands. She does notice Mike reach out and cling onto Will at one point though, and she's not sure when he lets go of them.

"See?" Max teases, slowly skating backwards, smirking at her. "You're a natural." She quirks an eyebrow. "You've never actually done this before though, have you?"

El's heart skips a beat, and her guilt gushes out of her in a wave from her mouth, "I'm sorry I lied, I know that friends don't lie, but I--"

"Hey! Hey, it's okay!" Max laughs and stops skating, forcing El to stop as well. She rests her hands gently on her shoulders, looking into her eyes with a much gentler smile. "Sometimes friends tell little lies to look cooler. That's okay. Buuuuut you don't need to do that with me. Okay? You are super awesome already."

El smiles back, though it doesn't last very long. "Not anymore. My powers..."

Max shakes her head. "Doesn't matter."

El blinks. "What? It... it doesn't?"

"No. El, you don't need your powers. You are amazing with or without them." Max drops her shoulders and pulls her in abruptly for a tight hug that nearly squishes the air out of El. It's nice. "You don't have to be someone else with me. I love you for who you are. And you are you. El. Or Jane. Whichever you prefer. I will always love you just for being you."

Tears sting at the back of El's eyes. She hides them in Max's shoulder as she hugs her back to the best of her ability. Her stomach has gone all weird and squirmy. Probably from how nervous she was to tell her the truth.

"I love you, too," El murmurs into her hair, trying not to sound so pathetic as she does.

Max chuckles quietly and says, "I know. Now, we should move before those idiots we call friends crash into us."

El bursts into a giggle, but agrees, and they separate (but remain holding hands) and skate out of Mike and Will's path. They only continue for another few minutes before deciding to take a break to grab some food as Max and Mike complain that they're starving, so El and Will's amusement.

#stranger things #st #elmax #eleven x max #max x eleven #el x max #max x el #eleven hopper #max mayfield #el hopper #jane hopper #eleven #rowing the rarepair rowboat #myedit*#once again definitely not a rarepair but I do not car #I adore them

80 notes · View notes

batpham-discord-highlights · 2 years

Text

Tim Drake and Robin: A Character Discussion

Source: #gotham (originally off topic in #ghosts-and-bats)

{Following a conversation about Bruce & his physical and mental capabilities}

The reason why Tim approached Bruce was because of how violent he got

thinking about what vigilante life did to Tim makes me sad :(

i think that is the cool thing about Tim, he approached him.

I think the only person being Robin has actually helped in the long run is Damian

But that's just me

It definitely helped Damien

Maybe Jason at the beginning

Dick needed it as an outlet, so I think it probably did help him in the long run :/

Dick absolutely needed it, at least at first

But in the end it definitely changed the first three

In what's probably not a good way a lot of the time

Yep

Jason "Robin Gives Me Magic" Todd and Tim "I Want To Help My Heroes" Drake

Dick "I'm going to go find my parents murderer whether you allow me or not" Grayson

Damien "I Will Prove Myself Worthy To Father" al Ghul-Wayne

pros and cons

con gave them more trauma

pros they're skilled disasters and we love them

LOL yes

Indeed

It definitely helped Dick mellow out

It gave Jason some perspective

It helped Damien grow up and grow out of the assassin mindset

And maybe it gave Tim confidence?

Other than that, it hurt him a lot more than it helped him, depending on which comics you read about his initial time as Robin

Tim also came in rough time so it doesn’t help

but i say it gave him confidence

but idk

he had a lot of balls

just going up to batman to become robin

Tim is also the one who didn't necessarily understand the risks to the same extent as the others

That's true

Well...

He recognized that Jason died and that this could kill him- at least logically

yeah

strange

He was a lot more naive in some ways though

like he knew but didn't know

It happens when you grow up with you, yourself, and I

If we look at their backgrounds, Dick (due to circus accidents), Jason (just do to where he grew up), and Damian (assassin) all had a true understanding of death growing up

I will say that Tim isn't perfect

And I don't think he was the best Robin

But he triggers my big sis instincts x 10000

Tim was there for the circus accident, I think

tru they all had a concept of death

but having it and hearing it is a bit different

I think he is in some of the comics

But he's super little

He is, that's true

He understands it more from a distance

Yeah, that's a good way of putting it

Where the others had a more up close and personal understanding

like death didn't affect me until I had someone die

now i can’t handle stuff with death in it without crying

The difference between knowing and knowing

But either way, I think the key understanding was the Tim was the least prepared to become Robin

yea

I think Tim didn't have a close death until his parents were murdered or his father, right?

I doubt he was as physically strong as any of the other Robins ever

he didn't have- ye

Yes. And if we include Stephanie, she was also more prepared than Tim in the Robin role

But accuracy? Intel? Detective work? he's got that

mhm

Tim's strength

And he would be plenty scary with a gun (as seen in canon)

Yeah, even with his fighting style, he prefers to keep more of a distance, hence the staff

which works great for him

Tim is more of a mind over matter which makes him great for Batman but not as great for Robin

And he gets too into the Batman mindset

That's why him becoming his own thing is so important

It just really, really sucks how it happened

Yes, yes, and yes

He would never be happy as Oracle, because he still loves going out at night

oh I did love in YJ when Tim like Batman sees allies I see friends thing =w=

I love that too

Tim used to love with his whole heart <3

yes Tim needs to be in the thick of it, but since he lacks some skills, plans harder to keep out of it.

Then a bunch of his friends "died", his Mom and Dad died, and Bruce "died"- suddenly he was all alone and drowning

Which resulted in his obsessive need to find Bruce... I believe that chain of events resulted in the missing spleen

Yes

Bruce "Dead" > No one listens > Robin is taken and given to his would-have-been-murderer > Is nebulously threatened with Arkham (it's complicated) > Becomes an international art thief> Gets involved in the League of Assassins > Loses his spleen and half his team to a rival assassin who didn't even know who he was > Gets the proof he needs that Bruce is alive > Blows up a bunch of LoA bases > Returns with the evidence > Bruce is saved

LOL

dang

And I bet the whole time he was telling himself "Everything will be okay (subconsciously: back to normal) once Bruce is back"

Spoiler alert: doesn't happen

And then New 52 happened shortly thereafter, so not a lot of closure was had

Yeah, and that rewrote some of the continuity

Cuz he's not currently missing a spleen

-__-

DC....

It would seriously complicate being a vigilante, I guess

But it would also force him more into the niche he would be better at filling

Yeah, Vigilante is not a good occupation to be immunocompromised in

Very true. Tim's much better at planning

And he's done a lot of work with Oracle

Though given he's already messed around with cloning after Kon died, there's always a chance he clones himself a spleen

I FORGOT ABOUT THAT

That's true 🤔

He would totally do that

I could totally see him having secretly replaced his spleen like that

^ This. There is so much missed potential there

Pru shows up "dude, you don't have a spleen"

amg

Tim "psh, I totally have a spleen. what are you on?"

I would love that

because that feels like tim

give me more PRU CONTENT

Tim: If you promise not to tell ANY of the Bats or Bat associates about the spleen thing, I'll hook you up with a new larynx

Pru: done.

No one realizes anything has happened until Ra's notices

OR WHEN THEY FIND TIM'S SPLEEN IN A JAR

AND RA'S IS TALKING TO IT

Pru: It wasn't me, no backsies on the larynx

Tim, fuming: yeah, I know.

Tim , muttering: stupid ra's and his stupid obsessions and his stupid face

All of the bats are suddenly Very Concerned about Tim

And he's like

Where were you when I needed this concern?

I'm fine now (lie)

LMAO

the ahh we fucked up : I moment

Dick: being Batman and trying to tame Damian

Jason: being a criminal

Bruce was stuck in time

Cass: Hong Kong

I just think that if Dick had handled the situation right, being there for Tim would not have been that hard

dc drama comics

And DC refuses to allow the BatFam attempts at being happier

Ah yes, let's have Tim walk in on his would-have-been-murderer wearing his Robin costume and saying he's unnecessary and NOT HAVE DICK CORRECT HIM (that I'm aware of)

oof

Oooh. Yeah, that's handled badly

yeah, THEY CAN STILL HAVE DRAMA AND MISERY just let them have better bonds

PLZ

they don’t need drama from each other

There's also a history of people being so sensitive to Damien's situation that they essentially end up telling Tim to man up and take this verbal abuse from his would-have-been younger brother

Because you can't tell me Tim wouldn't have loved to be a big brother

He was all for it right until Dami stabbed him

Then knocked him off the dinosaur

Then cut his grapple line

And it doesn't help that Tim was already nearly killed by Jason prior to that

yeah oof

2/3 for Tim's brothers trying to kill him

Yep

he just wants to be loved and wanted gosh darn it

And while Dick didn't try to kill him, he tended to excuse Damian's BS towards Tim. And that's why Cass is best sibling

Cass and Tim have a special relationship that is sacred

They are twins now

*slaps "Do Not Separate" label on them*

#gotham channel #tim drake #damian wayne #damian al ghul #dick grayson #brucequest #brucquest #jason todd #batfamily #red robin #robin #nightwing #batman #cassandra cain #cassandra wayne #who was the best robin?#that's incredibly subjective #we don't know #but probably not Tim tbh

66 notes · View notes

davidmariottecomics · 10 months

Text

Let's Buy a Comic

Hello! Check it out, I'm back a second week in a row! Pretty good!

Alrighty! Lets get right to it! I'm hoping to keep this one quick! Because this comes up a lot, I want to talk about how to go about actually buying comics. It's both a lot easier to do than you may expect and a lot more nuanced!

The Local Comic Book Store

When we're talking about the release of comics in the U.S. (and certain other places, including the U.K., Canada, etc) in stores, we're often talking about the Comics Direct Market. A ways back, I talked about both what exactly that means (Creator Vocab, pt. 1) and a little bit about how I shop at a comic book store and how you might want to too (You, Me, and Your LCS). I recommend reading through both of those if you missed 'em, but the short version is comics are primarily sold--at least in brick-and-mortar or physical stores--through specialty shops that primarily sell comics.

Comic shops tend to be one-off independent businesses. Sometimes, you might find one that's a small chain, often regional or within a single city or state. But there's no comic equivalent to say Toys R Us (not that TRU is really around in the U.S. anymore) or Barnes & Noble (we'll get to them) or FYE or whatever your other media-focused specialty chain retailers are. One of the really cool things about that, often, is it means when you go to a shop, you really are engaging with the local community. Not only are the employees local, but they're paying attention to what their local audience likes, and many shops also try to be involved in local events. The reason I'm really stressing this local point is if your comic shop doesn't know your interests as part of their local community, it makes it so much harder for them to bring in what you are looking for! (As a brief aside, I know some comic shops fall down on that and can be unfriendly, but a lot of them are cool and a lot of them like doing business, so they do want to get to know you and your interests).

"But David," you cry, "what if I don't know if I have a local comic shop?!" Good news: There's a website for that. And it even looks up shops outside the U.S. just by toggling a button! Hopefully, there's a good option for you! Sometimes, unfortunately, things just aren't spread out nicely like that. I have lived in places where the closest comic shop was an hour or more away and for a lot of folks, I get if that's not doable. Good news too: There are websites for that! Just choosing a few off the top of my head, here are some comic shops: Mile High (in CO), Midtown (in NY), Golden Apple (in CA), Comickaze (my local store), Silver Sprocket (indie comics including stuff they publish), Big Bang (in Ireland), Quimby's (in IL, a indie comics/zines & bookstore). Seriously, there are a bunch of them and they all have different stuff--see the bit about catering to their local audiences first--but also they ship! It has never been easier to buy comics from a comics specialty shop.

All of this is step 1 in buying comics: find a place with comics. Hopefully, now you have that. Let's take a brief trip to step 1.5: other places to buy comics.

The Book Market

I'm going to keep this fairly brief, but there are lots of other places where you can buy comics--though often not in single issue format. I mentioned Barnes & Noble earlier (and FYE who has some selection here too). You may remember a whole rigmarole not too long ago about why manga was beating comics or whatever because there were a couple pictures from one B&N with a larger manga than non-manga comics section (Shelf Space). And if you read that, you might remember one of my big points is it's all comics. In many ways, comics has broken back into the book market and collected editions and manga are available in more plentiful supply at bookstore chains and independent stores. Good news: There's a website for finding your local independent bookstore too!

Some comics are available through other channels too--from digital comic retailers and apps, borrowing them physically or digitally from your local library, and even a selection in mass market retailers like Walmart and Target. I believe--though there's some trickiness with this--both Marvel and DC still offer print comic subscriptions for their series. Plus, of course, there are a host of free and paid for webcomics hosted all over the internet and like huge comics campaigns through Kickstarter and so many other *legal* ways of obtaining your comics! All of this is to say, there are lots of ways to get access to comics beyond just comic shops.

Finding the Right Selection

Step 2: See if this shop has what you want, and if not, figure out how to get it.

Alrighty, not to sound too redundant, but one of the things that makes a comic shop special is it being catered to the interests of the owners/employees/regular customers. Different stores often have different specialties. Some stores primarily focus on new releases. These shops tend to have comics from within about a year, and then heavier sections for collections (for older material), sometimes manga, or "related material" (e.g. board games, toys, cards, Pops, etc). Some stores rely heavily on their back issues--comics that didn't sell (or are being resold) when they first came out, but that people still want--sometimes because they're trying to complete a run, sometimes because the comic features the first appearance of a character or something, sometimes just because some back issues are cheap and accessible. Some stores are more manga heavy, or more comic art book heavy, or don't really carry comics by the larger publishers, or carry comics of specific genres, or promote comics created by queer folks and POC, or whatever! Each store's identity is going to be unique.

Let's say you're looking for Sonic the Hedgehog. A place like Silver Sprocket or Quimby's is probably not going to have any and isn't likely to bring it in outside of a special request. The other stores I called out earlier probably will have bring in at least a couple copies. Mile High might be your best bet, out of those specific shops, for older issues, both from IDW and other publishers (there're about to be 900 English language Sonic comics, don't you know!). But they might not have any Sonic the Comic issues from the U.K. and you might need to look elsewhere for those! Finding a shop is important, but it also informs what you're going to find in the store and how likely it is they'll be able to get you what you want--be it new issues or older back issues.

I think it makes sense to share this here. I shared a thread from @disdainfreely who was walking through what it's like ordering for the comic shop they work at. It's an interesting thread and clearly speaks to how personal orders are from shop-to-shop, retailer-to-retailer.

Pre-Orders Pre-Orders Pre-Orders If you've found a shop that you dig, and you're looking for new/upcoming issues, the best way to proceed it to ask them about pre-ordering the book and setting up a pull box. A pull box is essentially a subscription through the comic shop. You don't (well... depending on your LCS's system) get the comics sent to you directly, but the store has a standing pre-order for you in place and will hold on to your pre-orders for a time.

Pre-ordering comics should be easy and *usually* is. Like most things, the more specific you can get, the better. You want to have Sonic added to your pull-box. Cool. Most retailers can work with just that. You might have to specify if that includes specials (like the 900th Adventure, the Amy's 30th Anniversary, Scrapnik Island, etc) or if you're trying to get specific covers (their own whole thing), but that's a pretty clear conversation. When you're talking, say, Batman, maybe it's more complex because there are a LOT of Batman titles with a lot of covers. Then, it might be helpful to either grab a catalog in store or look up what you're interested in at a distributor level (Lunar = DC, Image, and a number of smaller publishers, PRH = Marvel, IDW, Dark Horse, and others, Diamond = Pretty much all other publishers w/some overlap) and if you can share a specific order code, awesome! Just makes their life easier.

The real key to pre-orders is not only does it guarantee you a copy of the comic you want on the day it comes out, but these numbers inform the comic's print run (how many copies of it are made in the first place) and the store's overall inventory going forward. If you're the one person buying Sonic at a store, hey, maybe they're only bringing in your pre-order. But maybe they take a chance and bring in a couple copies of the next issue and you bring your friends in (or total strangers come in--maybe other regular patrons) and pick it up and then hey, now the store's ordering more Sonic more regularly and that's cool. It is a system that is good for you, good for the store, and good for the publisher. If You Liked It, You Gotta Go Back

Finally, once you've got everything else figured out, if you had a good time, remember to go back! Especially if you started a pull box (in which case, go back at least monthly!). Part of being a store that's driven by the local community is needing repeat customers to keep things afloat, so stop in again sometime!

And, really, that's how you buy a comic. If you have any questions, ask your retailer!

Next week? Who knows! But it's nice to be back!

What I enjoyed these past few weeks: Blank Check (Podcast), Honkai Impact (Video game), Rise of the TMNT (Cartoon), Craig of the Creek (Cartoon), Transformers: Earthspark (Cartoon), Across the Spider-Verse (Movie), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Movie), Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (Movie), Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), My Year in MENSA (Podcast), Robocop (Movie), Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus (Book), Chainsaw Man (Manga), I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Book), Hail to the Chin by Bruce Campbell (Book), Forest Hills Bootleg Society by Dave Baker and Nicole Goux (Comic), Pet Peeves by Nicole Goux (Comic), Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story by Sarah Kuhn, Arielle Jovellanos, and Olivia Pecini (Comic), I Think You Should Leave (TV show), Smallville (TV show), Guy's Ultimate Game Night (TV show), the DC Pride special (Comic), the current runs of Superman, Superboy, and Shazam (Comics), Witch Watch (Manga), The Age of Pleasure by Janelle Monae (Album--I really like Lipstick Lover), Barry (TV Show), Robber/Robert (18+ ADULTS ONLY COMIC), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video game), all the many Sonic birthday announcement-y things and other cool video game news, now being on Bluesky (I'm @davidmariotte there). Again, probably missing a lot of stuff because it has been a while since we last really talked, but that's what is at top of mind!

New Releases this week (6/21/2023): Sonic the Hedgehog, Vol. 14: Overpowered (Editor)

New Releases next week (6/28/2023): Brynmore #1 (Editor)

Final Order Cut-Off next week (6/26/2023 - AKA Preorder Deadline) Sonic the Hedgehog #63 (Editor)

Announcements:

Genuinely, not much to announce at the moment. I'll be at San Diego Comic-Con as usual this year (just got my badge in the mail). TBD whether this is my last con of the year. I hope not (and if you're a con and want me, reach out!), but we went so hard on spring and early summer shows this year, just expecting to be more light on travel the latter half of the year. I also wish I could be like "here's a big new thing I'm writing" but I don't have anything to talk about on that front right now either, sorry!

Tonight Becca should be streaming on Twitch (they're working a book festival today, so will likely be late and might not be long), but that should still be happening, I think! Or you can watch their art stream from Wednesday with Gigi Dutreix! You can also always visit their website, which is updated with new stuff since I last yelled about it here!

Lastly, I mentioned Silver Sprocket earlier! They're going to be opening up mini-comic submissions in August. Might be worth looking, folks who are interested! And if you need a writer... (wink)

OH! And of course, while it's still June, happy Pride!

Pic of the Week: Becca and I got a Sonic union suit! So here are funny pictures of us in it.

#comics #comics editorial #sonic idw #sdcc 2023 #comic shops #how to buy comics #bookstores

6 notes · View notes

randomnameless · 4 months

Note

Goddamn, the jump to a fully-3D game fucked over 3H hard when it came to it's boss variety; out of 27 paralogues across all the routes, 9 of them have unique bosses that aren't used elsewhere in the game, with the other 18 paralogues having Jeritza, Hubert or Catherine, generic fodder with slightly-amped stats pretending to be bosses, or no bosses at all.

Honestly, the Jeritza and Hubert inclusions may be my least favorite method of the three; it puts them in stories they have nothing to do with character-wise just for the sake of not making it too obvious that the side content is severely lacking in unique bosses, while also needlessly increasing Jeritza's already-comically-high amount of fights from 7 to 8 and Hubert's actually-reasonable amount of fights (post-route split at least, but i don't think it's too fair to count the prologue sparring matches as proper mini-boss encounters) from 3 to 5.

LOL

Bar the boss variety, what seriously pissed me is the lack if special battle convos with the bosses.

Flayn'n'Seteth have no lines against Maurice or worse, Nemesis himself!!!!

Heck, you could even make lines between Kostas and Leonie, Kostas going all uwu "you noble brats don't know what it is to be born a commoner !" and Leonie rekting him, because she wasn't born a noble, and yet, she's not killing children because someone paid her to do so (tfw jerry is a mercenary who kills people for money :()

Granted, I'll give credit where it's due, Tru Piss has the most battle convos, and reading them is a blast.

I'd have prefered for Flayn to have more convos against her classmates (maybe a special one with Linhardt who might have guessed who she is!), but it's Tru Piss for you.

But for the paralogue, ultimately, yes. Jeritza, or Hubert, or a random NPC. Man, imagine having to fight Leopold or Whodislava in a paralogue, like Grégoire was sent to "negotiate" with the Brigid people, or Leopold is the one rounding up the "imperial militia" in Hrym when Ferdie and Lysithea visit for their paralogue...

But no, we don't have any side or NPC character, and imo, it also participates in making Fodlan so bland - no NPCs, only the same two guys for some reason...

At least in the Yuri paralogue, we have Myson!

But he doesn't have a sprite :(

#anon #replies #the lack of battle and boss convos #sure you can't compare them to tellius but damn #even in FE8 we had more meat #and it's a GBA game ffs #Jugdral even game more care to their minor palletswap bosses than FE16 #Lamia is a young Hilda #think of the headcanons #ditto for Ishtar's trio of pegknights with Sety blood!#but no not in FE16 #at least Nopes introduced a lot of NPCs #FE16

6 notes · View notes

chernobog13 · 2 years

Photo

The cover to the first issue of Spectreman Heroes by Matt Frank, which arrived today at my comic book store.

This five-issue series is a co-production of Antarctic Press, Phase 6, and P-Productions. The series will present translated and color manga stories about older P-Productions tokusatsu heroes that have an avid fan base in Japan, but are rather obscure here in the West.

The back cover presents the line-up of heroes that will be featured. As you can see, they’re running behind in the publication schedule as this issue was supposed to be released in February. That’s probably due to the comic being printed and bound in South Korea and getting caught up in all the international shipping tangle that’s going on now.

Matt Frank provides page one of the comic, with Spectreman introducing the story of Electroid Zaborger, which is written, drawn, and colored by Hiroshi Kanatani.

The story is a very good introduction to the Denjin Zaborger (aka Electroid Zaborger) TV series, which originally was broadcast in Japan in 1974.

Zaborger as he originally appeared in his tv series

This is especially tru for someone like me who has never seen the original series. My only exposure to the character was the 2011 film Karate-Robo Zaborgar.

It’s been several years since I watched the film, but what I remember of it is that it was a tongue-in-cheek remake of the series, with the main protagonist being played as a comical loser. My memory ain’t what it should be, so I’ll have to rewatch the film after I read the comic again.

This comic is well worth checking out if you have even a passing interest in the toku heroes of the past. Check your local comic shop to see if they have it, or order it online at Antarctic-Press.com.

#Spectreman #Spectreman Heroes #Electroid Zaborger #Matt Frank #tokusatsu #Japanese superheroes #Karate-Robo Zaborgar #Antarctic Press #Phase 6 #P-Productions #comic books

61 notes · View notes

superman86to99 · 2 years

Photo

Superman ‘86 to ‘99 Extra: Erica Durance Saskatoon Expo ‘22 Panel Transcript!

Art by @donsparrow

Our own Don Sparrow had the privilege of hosting a panel centered on Smallville’s Erica Durance during this year’s Saskatoon Expo and got to ask her about killing it as Lois Lane, Supergirl’s mom, and her many other projects. She, in return, got to receive the original inks for the awesome artwork by Don seen above, so it was win/win. Here’s a full transcript of the panel as transcribed by Don. Enjoy!

RELATED: Some years ago Don also got to interview his famous pal Tom Grummett, so here’s the link to that interview in you’ve never seen it.

VAGUELY RELATED: And speaking of Tom Grummett, check out our recent post about his return to Superman comics in the new Earth-One series (which was accidentally posted privately first, so it looks like not a lot of people saw it).

Don:

Hello Saskatoon Expo! How good does it feel to be back? It’s very exciting. My name is Don Sparrow and I am Saskatoon’s resident Superman expert, and therefore the host of this panel. How many Saving Hope fans do we have here?

(Some applause)

We’ve got a few. How many Supergirl fans do we have here?

(More applause)

A few more. And how many Smallville fans do we have here?

(Big applause)

We got a whole bunch. So, without further ado, let me introduce: Many fans know Erica Durance as Lois Lane from Smallville for which she starred for seven years on the show. Most recently, she was seen on the CW series Supergirl as Alura Zor-El. Erica was a producer and lead actress on CTV’s hit medical drama Saving Hope, playing the role of Dr. Alex Reid, for which she garnered Canadian Screen Award nominations in 2013 and 2017. Her many notable guest appearances include Harry’s Law, Charlie’s Angels remake, Stargate SG1, Andromeda and Tru Calling. Durance’s film credits include her tour-de-force performance as twin sisters in the Italian film Jemelle. She also starred in the Hallmark movie Wedding Planner Mystery. In 2011, Durance was nominated for a Saturn Award, and a Teen Choice Award for Best Actress for her work in Smallville. In 2012, Hello Canada Magazine listed her as one of Canada’s 50 most beautiful people, and Buddy TV ranked her #9 on its TV’s 100 Sexiest Women. Durance is a supporter of a very worthy cause, World Vision Canada and lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her husband and their three sons. Please give a warm Saskatoon welcome to Erica Durance!

(Applause)

Erica:

That’s quite a bio.

Don:

I read the whole thing.

Erica:

Well done.

Don:

Welcome here. So, I’m going to start off with a few questions, we also do have a microphone in the middle, which we’ll open up pretty quick here. So, welcome to Saskatoon.

Erica:

Thank you. Thank you for having me. First thing I want to say is: out in the audience today is my second mother, and her daughter Deanna, who is like my adopted younger sister. Now, Cathy—where are you?—there she is—is the reason that I act or sing at all. So, I was five years old looking for something to do with all of me, and my emotions, and I found Cathy, and I followed her around like a lost puppy, and then she decided to adopt me. So, she lives here in Saskatchewan, and I wanted to introduce her.

Don:

That is very exciting. (To Cathy) Well, thank you for giving us Erica Durance. We are thrilled.

(applause)

So we’re gonna get to some Smallville questions, but my wife—who is in the audience--and I are huge Hallmark movie fans. I’m not afraid to admit it, we love these movies. And we’ve noticed some of your post-Smallville roles have tended to be more wholesome family entertainment. We’re very excited about “Colour My World With Love” which looks really interesting. Is that an intentional direction you’ve gone in as an artist, or is it a reflection of being a parent? A bit of both?

Erica:

It’s a little bit of both. I want to put out things into the world that are positive, that families can join around, and watch together. And just takes a little bit of the load off of life, which is--in this world of information, where we get it just crammed down our throats all the time, and yes, we do need a sense of reality, and what’s actually going on, and all those kind of things—people desperately need stories that are hopeful, and kind, and well, and we know we can sit down and no worry about some kind of horrible thing happening (laughs). And so it was partially that, and partially the fact that it provides for me a way to take care of my two boys, and they’re still really young. They’re five and seven, and so these jobs are very short. We shoot all these movies in fifteen days so I’m able to stay at home, go out, do that, come back, and jump back into motherhood.

Don:

That’s excellent. And many are filmed in Canada as well, so that makes it easier.

Erica:

Yes.

Don:

Moving to Saving Hope: I’ve read that your family comes from a faith background, and thinking of Alex Reid being such an evidence-based, and just the facts sort of character, was that tension of medical procedural and supernatural drama, by the end of it, a challenge?

Erica:

Well, yes and no. I think it was really good for me to take on something where I would be challenged to think the opposite of the way I was taught, all growing up. And so I wanted to take a character that would basically just embrace only science, and learn about that way of life and way of thinking of things, and then slowly having to adjust to the fact that there may be something else out there. That we can believe in things, and that there is a higher power, there is something to believe in. Plus to be honest, I loved all the science, I loved all the doctor stuff. By the end I thought I was a doctor. (laughs) I got an honourary degree from the chief of surgery (laughs).

Don:

The jargon could be a mouthful, and you did very well with that.

Erica:

(laughs) Thanks.

Don:

Were you ready for that show to end? Are you ever ready? I know the life of an actor means every job is fairly temporary. Do you think there were places they could have gone with those characters?

Erica:

No, I think that show was ready to be wrapped up. I think that we wanted to end it a certain way, and we did and some people loved it, and some people didn’t love it. But it had finished its journey, and I certainly had as well in that particular character. And then practically, I was pregnant again. So I had both my sons while I was shooting that show, and it gave me a newfound appreciation for women that work and have their babies and try to do it all. So I was ready to enter that chapter of my life.

Don:

Excellent. So, Lois Lane. Perhaps your most famous role. How did you approach taking on such an iconic role? Did it help that you were playing a version of Lois that was less established? Or was it more pressure, not having that framework?

Erica:

No, it was absolutely my saving grace! (laughs) Because I could just say, you know what?—this is a whole new story we’re telling. It’s an origin story, so then most people…well, there were some people who had a problem with it, but you know, for me when I got it, it was such a surprise. You know, I’m this girl from Alberta, a small farm, I’m out in Vancouver just kind of trying, auditioning for things here and there. And then this opportunity presents itself. I remember telling this story a couple of times. I just said “you know, I’m not doing this, because they’re going to pick somebody from LA, it’s just the way it goes. And I don’t know if that attitude coming into the audition somehow had an opposite effect, but I felt like I just got swept away with it and all of a sudden I was just filming, and then you just go with the flow. And I depended so much on the creators of the show, and where they wanted to take her. Many, many people were upset that Lois was there early, because that’s not the mythology. But that filming still happened in a day and age where you could shut out some of the excess nonsense, right, so you’re not constantly inundated by opinions of everybody all over the world about what they want or don’t want. And yeah, I just took the stand that, well I’m sorry if you don’t like it—then don’t want it. You don’t have to watch me. (laughs)

Don:

Exactly.

Erica:

But I think I kind of wore them down through the years and then people seemed to kind of accept her.

Don:

Well I think that was what made Smallville so unique was the Clark Kent persona—the nerdy, bumbling Clark Kent persona—was an invention of Lois Lane. That had never been done before, and I just thought that was so cool, I just loved it.

But take me through the early days of that show, being introduced to that show. It’s a hit show and you’re playing one half of one of the best romances in fiction, and then in a very early scene, you’re dodging a naked guy in your car.

Erica:

Oh yeah! (laughs) Yeah, one of my first scenes was shooting that. And they do that to us all the time, when you’re filming. You end up doing what would be considered the most awkward scene. But I just embraced it because it would be awkward anyway and of course, what we show you guys we see is not all of what we see. It’s much more tame than what people think it is. But I have to say it was kind of embarrassing, right, because I had originally booked the background. I was an extras agent, so I had booked all of Tom’s photo doubles and all of that kind of stuff and all of a sudden I’m sitting in here and I’m working with the guy so that was (laughs) awkward, and so that kind of birthed the whole part of Lois that was neurotic and a little bit odd and everybody thinks it was a real choice, but it was me just trying to embrace the fact that here I was feeling like an imposter working on this show.

Don:

Very unique trial by fire.

Erica:

(laughs) I’d love to say that it was methodically thought out, but it really wasn’t.

Don:

“I demand that I dodge a naked guy in my first episode!”

Erica:

(Laughs)

Don:

One of the things that stuck out to me in your interpretation of Lois Lane was that it was quite egalitarian in the show’s treatment of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Not to get too in the woods, but there’s a great moment in an early episode where your character gets separated while you’re fighting some commando types, and you see the panic on Clark’s face, as he realizes he’s left you alone, and you must be in danger, because Lana was in danger every episode. And as he comes over the hill to check on you, and unlike Lana, we see that you’re handling these guys just fine—your kung fu moves—so is that fun to play? The damsel not in distress?

Erica:

Yes! (laughs) Yes, that’s why I liked it. Kristin’s character got a bad rap on that and if any of you have ever met her, or been at a convention you see that what a strong and independent wonderful woman she is. And one of her biggest frustrations was that she was in this space that she never could rescue herself. But we all realize that we are given those role and we’re meant to play them out and it’s part of the gig. And so, when people say “oh I love how you did Lois and she was so independent and amazing” I always say “and I thank you for that, but I also lucked in a role where they allowed me to do that”. And I really liked that I would pick up a script and one episode I would be doing lots of stunts, and be really feisty and then the next episode I would be the lady that needed help, and I would get to be vulnerable and all of those things and people wondered about that and they would ask me about the consistency of that. And I said, first of all if you knew me you’d know I am very contradictory and you never know which personality you’re going to get in the morning anyway. But human beings do contradict themselves, so you’re going to have her do that sometimes, and then the next time it’s going to be--you know--she’s going to be right back in his face again.

Don:

And sometimes you’re a vampire.

Erica:

And sometimes I’m a vampire, or—I think I was a zombie once, that one was really difficult. The one thing I will say, as the years went on, I would get a little bit lippy about it, was the fact that we’d be out in the middle of the night, usually fighting bad guys, it’s cold, I’m wearing heels and a very skimpy dress, and (Tom) comes out with his workboots, and about five layers of clothes on and he’s so comfortable, and I was like “Ok, wait a minute”. So I remember doing a couple of things like that which were taking it up even a notch, because I’m fighting, and I’m kicking, but I’m running up the stairs backwards wearing high heeled boots, right, and I pointed that out occasionally. And they didn’t care. (Laughs)

Don:

Well, we appreciated it, your sacrifice. I’ll ask one more and then maybe we’ll open it up to the floor for a bit.

Returning to the role of Lois Lane recently, in the Crisis storyline. Comic fans, particularly Superman fans, as you sort of hinted at, can be passionate about what they like, or don’t like. So a big decision like Clark giving up his powers in the wrap up there could be one of those divisive things. How did you feel about it, and what has the reaction been at these kind of shows?

Erica:

The reaction has been really really good. I think because it was a less is more scenario. And how do you insert them into that universe that already has a Lois and Clark? All those kinds of things. And beloved characters that, you know, are set in stone in a certain way in people’s minds. And so for the most part, people were really really excited about it. And anytime they asked Tom (Welling) about how he felt about it, he was so positive about the way he was portrayed, that he had wanted that, and I think people kind of fell along, into line with that, because it’s how he felt about it. He was fine. And I still got to bug him, which is nice. I had like four lines, and I still was in his face, which was great.

Don:

It was like a high school reunion.

Erica:

It was like “ah, Tom, you need it. Somebody’s gotta do this to you.”

Don:

And if people didn’t like it, it’s just an alternate Earth.

Erica:

Yeah, exactly. And, just switch the channel if you don’t like it.

Audience Member 1:

Hi, I’m Greg from Moose Jaw. I’m sure I speak for everyone here, but you certainly couldn’t have gotten to the show soon enough. You made the show, and I don’t care what anyone else says. You could have been there from season one, it would have been perfect.

Erica:

Oh, thank you. (applause)

Audience Member 1:

Just a question I had there, was there anyone that you enjoyed working with most, or any funny story you have with someone there? Just someone that you got along with, or developed a friendship with?

Erica:

Well, It would be really fun if I could make a joke and say ugh I hated everybody, but I was known as the one that was there that was always very keen to be there, with lots of energy and excitement and everybody else either had been there for a long time, or just had a different personality. I got to know Cassidy Freeman pretty well when she came in in the latter seasons. So Cassidy, and Laura (Vandervoort) and I, we hung out a lot. Kristin we kinda didn’t see each other too much. We’re actually much better friends now, after the show. We see each other quite a bit. I loved working with Justin Hartley. We laughed a lot. We were both the new people on the show at the time, and so we had a really great camaraderie. But yeah, I’d say working with Tom, because I did it so much. I was just lucky that we got on very very well. And our personalities matched. We understood each other, we had the same sense of how to work, and the way we wanted to work. It was really cool.

Don:

Excellent. While we wait for another question from the floor, I’ll ask another one here. I know you’re a busy actress, with a thriving career, so you don’t get as much downtime as you probably want, but what is your current binge watch, when you’re at home.

Erica:

I just finished watching Sanditon on PBS. I love PBS and British shows, so I just finished watching that one. Do you guys ever have that, too? Where you know you sit and watch lots of Netflix, and Amazon, but then somebody says “what’s your favorite” and you’re like completely blank. I know I finished watching a ton of stuff. Let me think about it. The name is gonna drop in when the panel is over and I’ll yell it out somewhere, but that’s one of them.

Audience Member Mike Fisher (head honcho for the convention):

Yeah, I can’t remember if I had a bigger crush on you or Justin when you both came on the show

Erica:

(laughs)

Mike Fisher:

You guys were such a breath of fresh air.

Erica:

I mean, you know what we did do, is we compared waists and I think his waistline was probably as thin as mine.

Mike Fisher:

I just don’t know if that guy is human.

Erica:

(laughs)

Mike Fisher:

He’s like an experiment from another planet.

Erica:

He is! He is.

Mike Fisher:

He is.

Erica:

He never slept, he ate doughnuts all the time.

Mike Fisher:

What?

Erica:

Yeah.

Mike Fisher:

That is so frustrating to hear.

Erica:

All the time. And I would be sitting there with a tuna cup, and I was like, “I hate you”.

Mike Fisher:

Yeah I know. I’ve seen Tom eat at conventions, and I’m like what is happening? These guys just get away with murder.

Erica:

They’re so lucky, they don’t seem to get old and wrinkly, or leathery. Everybody goes “Oh you look so handsome, you’ve really grown into yourself”

Mike Fisher:

Distinguished. When you get older, right, it’s “distinguished”.

Erica:

Distinguished yeah. I don’t get that.

Mike Fisher:

So, shoutout to Three Hills, shoutout to the prairies. I’m just wondering, when you move to Vancouver, when you’re doing work in LA, was there a part of you that felt like you weren’t going to fit there? Just where you grew up wasn’t a match for being in LA with the way you were raised?

Erica:

Absolutely!

Mike Fisher:

So how did you deal with that?

Erica:

(Laughs) How much time do you have? I really just tried to see it all with a bit of a sense of humour. I am who I am, I couldn’t be anybody other than who I am, and so you just take it or you leave it. But I tended to withdraw quite a bit. Especially in a new scenario, so that I could kind of observe the room, observe how everything works, and find my way to fit in. But I didn’t ever change who I was. They just either had to accept it, or not. But it’s a very foreign kind of world to be in. I still look for that revolving door to kick me right out the back. That they have in the saloon. Why am I still here? You can’t, and I don’t want to change who I am. But really, you can’t change that first blueprint of where you came from. And I’m proud of it.

Mike Fisher:

Thank goodness.

Erica:

(laughs)

Audience Member #3:

Hi, Mike from here in the city. My daughter wanted to say hi, because she’s super nervous. She wanted to ask a question but she’s super nervous. First I’m going to sing your praises, like everybody else, honestly since Margot Kidder, when you came to be Lois Lane, I have compared every other Lois to you since you made your first appearance, you were fantastic. Not just how you look, your act, everything was just perfect. So far no one’s come even close, to me, my personal opinion. I’d like to see a lot more of that. So to my question, when you came back many years later to play Lois again, with Tom on the crossover, and then plus doing your appearance on Supergirl, was it easy to get right back to that Lois role, and go into that kind of world again, or was it like riding a bike?

Erica:

It was like riding a bike. The thing about playing in Supergirl is that it just felt a little bit surreal. It was like that I was the adult in the group, and I was watching these kids. And it was some of the same sets, a lot of the same gags. It felt like it was home, but not quite. And you were there to do the support piece. It came around so quickly for me. I’d just had my son, and then they called and they said could you come and do this part, they had their other actress ended up going and doing other things, and so, it was just again, like most things in my life, I don’t plan for it, and I end up on set looking around going “Ok, so now I’m Alura, and I’m Supergirl’s mom”. As far as the Lois thing, it was really cool, and that’s how you know you’ve met people in your life, or people come across in your life that are just—it’s as if you’ve met them before. And that’s how it is with Tom and I. It was always like that. When we first met, it was really easy. We didn’t see each other for ten years, and I showed up on that set, and it was so easy, it was so nice, it was like coming back home again. So we had great laughs and a good time.

Don:

So shifting back to Hallmark for a moment, and Christmas Stars—a favourite around our house by the way. You got to sing!

Erica:

I did!

Don:

Was that something you’d love to do more of?

Erica:

I would love to. I’d love to do it in a way that wasn’t so rushed. Again it was very new for me, and I ended up showing up there and working with JT (Hodges), who is really great. He wrote the songs. And I got a cold. So I was basically singing the whole time with a cold—(turns to Kathy) Kathy—not in my register at all. Here’s my debut singing, and I’m doing alto, which I’m not an alto. Anyways, it was really fun, it was just something different. Originally, I wanted to be on Broadway, and do theatre, where I can mix it all up, and it would be spontaneous, and fresh every time, and so that was as close as I got to mixing some of the things I’d love to do

Don:

So far.

Erica:

So far! That’s a positive way to look at it.

Don:

Saskatoon doesn’t have an NHL team so you’re safer here than most cities.

Erica:

Kinda.

Don:

Kind of. Is there a hockey team you grew up cheering for, or cheer for now?

Erica:

Oh. I grew up cheering for the Calgary Flames. Because I’m from Alberta, and I was closest to Calgary, and I always felt like they were the underdogs. Because at that time—this is gonna age me—but the Oilers had Gretzky. And I was like “ughh, they win every time!” So I just had to cheer for Calgary, and there’s still that competition, every time I go to Alberta, if I’m in Edmonton or Calgary, boy those two do not like each other. Just some principle.

Don:

A little vocal.

Erica:

Yeah.

Don:

Is Tom Welling’s cartoon gonna happen? This cartoon Smallville he’s very excited about?

Erica:

Let me text him. (laughs) You know what? I’m always the last to the party. Whether it’s Smallville, or their thing. I think that it’s definitely in the works, but that’s as much as I know. And then they’ll call me and be like “are you gonna do this thing”. And I’ll say “yeah, sure, of course. I’m game”. I hope so. How fun would that be? I would love that. Yeah.

Don:

So we’ll do some rapid fire.

Erica:

Oh! Ok.

Don:

Pizza or tacos?

Erica:

Tacos.

Don:

Beatles or Stones?

Erica:

Stones. (pause) I feel like I’m being judged harshly (laughs)

Don:

No, those are both correct answers.

Erica:

Ok, ok, ok!

Audience Member #4:

Hi, Matthew from Saskatoon. Any thoughts of…(trails off)

Erica:

(helpfully) Any thoughts…

Audience Member #4:

Any chance of being in the Marvel cinematic universe?

Erica:

If they would answer my calls. (laughter) Nobody answers my calls! I don’t have the right number.

Don:

That is a good question. So if you could play—I mean we saw you sort of as Wonder Woman, on Smallville—so if you could play any other superhero who would you want to be?

Erica:

Other than Wonder Woman? I still want to be Wonder Woman. I still think she’s the best.

Don:

I think there’s a few people who would want to see you play Wonder Woman. (applause)

Erica:

I still think it would be fun. But I’m not gonna do anything now, because Gal (Gadot) is out there, so forget that. (laughter) Way too stressful. I could talk about the new Hallmark movie I just did.

Don:

Yes, please do.

Erica:

“Color My World With Love”

Don:

Yes! You were promoting this a bit on your Instagram, and it looks very interesting, so please do.

Erica:

Yeah. So it’s coming out on June 12th, and I got to play the mother of the lovely Lily D. Moore. And it is a story based on her love life, and her falling in love, and what I like what they’re doing with Hallmark right now is they’re trying to tell different types of love stories, and not just the basic “guy meets girl, they’re both of the same socio-economic status or whatever” there’s no levels, it’s just the one love story. Which is fine. But now they’re starting to do the love stories where, for example, just my love for my daughter, right? How do I raise my child? How do I let her go? How do I let her experience love and see the world through her eyes, and make mistakes, and fall in love, and get hurt? And all of those things, and so, yeah, it’s a good show.

Don:

And we don’t see performers that look like her (Moore has Down syndrome) on TV enough, and so I’m really excited to check that out, and I’m just excited to have Hallmark quality movies year round. Same with the mystery movies—they don’t have to be in a Christmas resort town—

Erica:

(laughs) We’ve done enough of those!

Don:

We like those.

Erica:

We laugh about it, too. We’re like “are we in a cherry orchard or an apple orchard, there’s always the red truck” but I like to watch them myself. There’s always that red truck in every movie!

Don:

I’ll have to add that to our Bingo sheet.

Erica:

(laughs)

Don:

We have a few entries on the bingo sheet.

Erica:

So you do like a Bingo game when you’re watching Hallmark?

Don:

Absolutely. Yes.

Erica:

That’s good. It’s safer than a drinking game.

Don:

(laughs) It’s safer than a drinking game! Exactly. The kids are in bed, we’re gonna—

Erica:

No, but I joke. They’re good movies, and they make people feel good, and lots of people gather around and watch them together.

Don:

Absolutely.

Erica:

(There is a gap in the questions from the audience) You’re all so polite. I love Canada.

Audience Member 1:

I wanted to give someone else a chance, but I definitely have more questions. I just wanted to hear a bit more about your auditioning process on Smallville, and stuff like that. How you got there, who was involved in getting you in, and what it was like, your first foray, I just like hearing origin stories.

Erica:

Oh, Ok. I just went through the regular audition process. You just go in, in Vancouver and you give it a go. I was actually brought down to LA before that, so I think I got Lois because I was brought down earlier, and I went in to audition for a show called Tarzan, and there was a very very well known director named David Nutter, who launched a lot of these shows—he actually launched Smallville—and he saw me in the audition room, and he brought me to LA to audition for his show, and that’s where I met Warner Brothers. And they signed me onto what’s called an exclusivity deal, which is—I would only do something for them. And that year I ended up doing Gramercy Park, which was a pilot for them, and so I kinda got on their radar. And as things happen—nothing happened. That is a lot of this business as well, you can shoot a ton of pilots and nothing goes. And we went a full year, and then the Lois character came out and I remember my manager was so excited, “oh four episodes, you get to play Lois, its gonna be amazing, you’re gonna go in for this” as I said, I didn’t want to do it. I was kinda pouting. So I went in to audition, and then what happens is they take you down to test, and so you go down to LA, and you go to the studio first, and you just go into this room—they make the process really stressful for the actor, as stressful as possible. And they all sit there and eat lunch and judge you, and you’re usually in a real like theatre, so they’re like in these riser chairs, and you come in, and do your audition. So you have to pass the studio first, and if the studio likes you, then you make it to the next round. So you’ll know right after, because they’ll basically say “kay, thanks, bye, go home” and then you’re with like four or five other girls, and then it slowly goes down. So then I went to the network, and then I waited and waited, and didn’t hear anything. And I was about to get on my plane to Vancouver, and that’s when my manager called and he goes “you’re playing Lois!” and I went “No way!” and I yelled really loud in the airport. And then what I didn’t realize—and I’ve told this story a ton—that was the Friday night, and then on the Saturday, I went to the studio to take pictures and do the whole deal, and I was just gonna meet Tom and say “hi”. And I was like Ok, cool, part of the team, I can do this. We were supposed to read a scene we were doing on Monday. I didn’t know if he didn’t like me, I would get fired! (laughs) So, and he’ll deny that to this day, but I know that it was the final hoop that I had to go through that if I didn’t meet his standards of not annoying, and not threatening, not making his life difficult—that I would not be working on Monday. So—phew—I’m glad I didn’t know that! And then I ended up working on Monday, and then had to shoot that scene where I saw him scantily clad, and that was awkward, because I barely knew him. And the rest of kind of history. And what was really great about Tom is that he understood what it was like to be part of a show with almost no experience, and so four years later, he meets this person that’s thrust into a rather large role, and in that way he took me under his wing, and he kinda showed me the ropes, and gave me hints, and helped me out with some things that I was awkward about. And I think that was kind of a basis for such a good friendship, and it helped with our work.

Audience Member 1:

Perfect, good to hear, I appreciate it.

Audience Member #5:

Thanks so much for joining us in Saskatoon.

Erica:

Thanks for having me.

Audience Member #5:

There was a question about Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is there a character or a franchise that you would love to be involved with in the future, or anything like that? That you can see, like, oh I want to be in a Star Wars movie, or something like that?

Erica:

How do I put this? As an actor, I’m game for anything, pretty much, that’s respectable. Like I’m at a point where I want to do stuff that I’m not ashamed of, and that I don’t want my kids to be embarrassed about what their mother is doing. But, you know I’ve never really had to project, and go, I’m gonna work toward this particular job, or that particular job. And I lucked into two jobs that lasted really long, and I’m getting jobs offered to me so to have the imagination to sit and go, of I’d love to go do this. I’d love to work again, steadily, but I really love series work. I don’t want to do really dark independent movies that depress me, and depress people that watch it. And sometimes, in certain acting circles, that will diminish me quite a but in their eyes. But I’ve gotten to a point in my life where if something is a little bit too dark, I just don’t want to be in that zone. So I am quite happy to play on a network TV show, like a procedural; little bit of crime, little bit of sci-fi. I’d like to bring sci-fi back into things because it makes it so much more fun. Because you can become other characters whilst being a detective or something. Maybe something fun like that.

Don:

Excellent.

Audience Member #6:

(Nervous) Hi. So have you ever considered like going into like voiceover animation, or would you prefer to just like stick to doing more live action, just out of curiosity.

Erica:

I would love to do voiceover, which is why I’m hoping that Tom (Welling) and Mike (Michael Rosenbaum)’s thing works, because then I could do that. You see how I’m just like, ugh, why pursue it if there’s other people who are gonna give me the job? No, honestly I would. And I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding, that it’s something that’s easy to get into. I find that you get onto a highway, or a certain road as an actor, and you’re in that space. And there’s many of us that would love to try those other things, but the opportunity isn’t always there. But I think it would be such an interesting way to use my craft and figure out how to make something come alive by just being in the studio, and rolling in there and doing that. And seeing what the wonderful artists could do with it. For sure.

Audience Member #6:

Yeah I hope it happens. Good luck.

Don:

So I think this will be the last question, the guy with the appropriate shirt (wearing a Superman t-shirt)

Audience Member #7:

Are you going to go on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast again soon. I watched it this morning

Erica:

Yes. He is relentless.

Don:

That’s a good word.

Erica:

No, we just did another one. We did one a year ago, and he keeps calling “are you gonna do it, are you gonna do it?” NO, I don’t want to do it, I don’t have anything to talk about, what am I gonna talk about? So there’s another one coming out, and I get quite nervous, and just texted him the other day, I was like “did I say something weird in our interview?” “No, it’s great.” It will come, and then you guys can judge it.

Audience Member #7:

Right on, awesome.

Don:

On behalf of Saskatoon Expo, and everybody here, and Superman fans everywhere, we just thank you for your body of work, and for coming here today, we have so appreciated all these answers and just your presence.

Erica:

Well thank you for having me, and for your lovely questions, I hope you guys have a really great weekend. Bye!

#superman #erica durance #smallville #saskatoon expo #don sparrow #supergirl #saving hope #hallmark channel #interviews

28 notes · View notes