#and i want batman fans to FREE themselves. go back pick up a book from the 70s or 80s it’s just

[roobylavender]

i don’t really agree with the idea that ra’s can be swapped out for talia in terms of damian’s upbringing and nothing would change about the story bc he’d be near exactly as abusive as morrison wrote talia to be like.. no.. that’s just misunderstanding ra’s as a character which frankly a lot of people do. ra’s is emotionally abusive but there are still specific patterns to that behavior. he wants the people at his side to genuinely believe in his vision and abide by it and act upon it, it’s far more complex than him being a physically abusive person who would brutally train a child with no remorse or regard for that child’s well being. current canon esp in the last year has led to this belief that talia grew up cold and pressured to take upon the role and be the perfect weapon but she didn’t. she and ra’s were implied to have a relatively fine relationship as she grew up and things only began to shift once bruce entered the picture and became an influence on talia and her loyalties

when the idea of losing talia to bruce began to veer into reality, ra’s became more possessive and insistent in what he wanted talia to do to ensure she would remain on his side. but even then when she ultimately left him for good to move to metropolis the retaliation that ra’s took out wasn’t on her, it was on bruce. he respected her attempts to break out and do something on her own terms, and that’s not to absolve him, i’m simply pointing out how he’s capable of respecting the people he cares about so long as they don’t go directly against him. so when you toy with the idea of ra’s killing damian’s adoptive parents (which is something i believe he would do. they’re an obstacle to his family after all) and thereby choosing to raise him on his own you have to remember that damian is ultimately a child who will possess little to no tangible worldview with respect to what ra’s is preaching (unless his parents are conveniently environmentalists and he’s a genius child which personally is a boring cop out)

so damian is this relatively unexposed kid whose parents suddenly die only for a man to present himself as his grandfather. ra’s pulls the strings to let it all show in the paperwork and damian goes home to one of his bases. and i think the first thing ra’s would do is teach damian about the world. about the way he views it but in the simplest terms understandable to a child. and he would pull damian into this world of scholarship and travel and athleticism not out of cruelty but out of love. bc there is genuine love that ra’s has for bruce and talia even if he eventually abused it. he was overjoyed when they were going to have damian. and he can still be overjoyed and engrossed in the idea of having a grandson to call his own and to teach his philosophy to even if ultimately what he would be doing is projecting his own desires onto damian. he can hope for damian to be the one person in his family who stands by him and understands him and follows him and it can be tragic bc we know his worldview is ultimately wrong and what he’s done isn’t right and damian needs to be rescued asap. but it would all be punctuated by love that would frankly be so much more interesting to explore bc the real crux of ra’s as a character is that he is incredibly proud and lonely and loving in all of the most heartbreaking and potentially unforgivable ways possible. he holds onto people too tightly without understanding why they might want to let go. and there’s no better person to explore the breaking point of that behavior through than a completely unaware damian who ends up on his doorstep and genuinely believes he’s going to live with a grandfather who loves him in all of the right ways. and love him ra’s does. just without telling damian all of the ugly truths it took to get him there

#ra’s al ghul #personal essays #i am genuinely. a gazillion times more interested in exploring ra’s as the emotionally manipulative person he is #than as some crazy guy obsessed with immortality and body swapping and beating a child into obedience #like he genuinely is character assassinated a lot and it’s not brought up nearly enough when the storylines with him could be so cool #bc again i keep emphasizing it but i DO think he would love and adore and poor everything of himself into damian #but it wouldn’t change the fact that it would all be backed up by a lie #it wouldn’t change the fact that he would be hiding damian from his own parents #it wouldn’t change the fact that rather than trying to make amends with bruce and talia he would look to a child to give him solace #it wouldn’t change the fact that when damian finally found out the truth he would be devastated #bc ra’s could be someone he genuinely grows to love. and all of it would be mired in lies #idk it’s just. way way juicer to me than your standard omg let’s train damian to be a super soldier 🤪 shtick #damian in general to me is boring sorry we’ve already established this he really is just my oc atp #i should clarify i mean this as a concept like who he was created to be. it’s boring it’s racist it doesn’t capitalize on the lore etc #but i mean i have no regrets about that bc my take on him is informed by what the al ghuls are actually like. not character assassination ☺️ #the al ghuls are genuinely so cool and people’s criticism of morrison should extend to the way their lore was bastardized as a whole #if we are being real. like everything he did with utterly bland utterly boring utterly unimaginative #and i want batman fans to FREE themselves. go back pick up a book from the 70s or 80s it’s just #so much more fun and anointed with depth. bride of the demon literally apex of ra’s characterization #along with that one batman chronicles issue eight story the prison #he’s soooo complex like do i think he /deserves/ forgiveness no but bruce and talia do ultimately pity him in some form #and if there was a way to make him powerless and keep him alive and change him they would pursue it #anyway i am getting away from the point here ig what i am trying to say is the al ghuls are packed with so much love and more writers #ought to explore it. instead of making up fucking. demon magic lore or whatever the fuck #like they’re already fucked up in so many ways idk i genuinely don’t believe you need to add to the pit lore to explore them as people #i just realized the stories i recced for ra’s characterization are from the 90s lmao. oh well. they still banged #talia al ghul #damian wayne #dc

[theregoesjodariel]

Supergem: Writer’s Notes, Chapters 1-10

Hey gang! It’s a long time coming, but I finally got off my ass and finished the full notes for chapters 1-10 of Supergem, my big huge SU fic. I’m just about to finally get to work on the next batch of chapters, so I figured now would be a great time to look back on what I’ve done so far and provide some hopefully interesting commentary. Read on for that stuff!

Chapters 1-5

Right off the bat, chapter 1's title is a reference to the now-famous single-page retelling of Superman's origin story from All-Star Superman #1. There, "kindly couple" was used to summarize Clark Kent's crashlanding on Earth and discovery by the Kents.

Chapter 2 features what I feel would be the natural result of trying to fire bullets at a Gem: absolutely nothing. While Gems are obviously made of hard light and have been shown to be capable of being hurt by conventional means-- see Peridot getting Wile E. Coyote'd by the corrupted Gem in Beta-- I like to imagine that bullets are simply so small and so high-velocity that they'd pass through Gem bodies harmlessly. The science is probably wrong, but let me have my Rule of Cool.

Aside from sporting the amalgamated personalities of Lapis and Peridot, the two superheroes Turquoise takes the most inspiration from are Superman and Spider-Man. She shows at least some compassion for all people, even bad guys, like Superman, and she throws plenty of quips, especially when getting it handed to her, like Spidey.

As stated in the notes, I do not have a set design in mind for Turquoise, but I DID end up canonizing elements of a couple of designs I really like within the story. She sports the unique five-pointed hairstyle and orange suspenders of ahhween's design, as well as the cool cyan color scheme and water cape of cheerkitty1410's. Those two are just fantastic.

Axinite is a Gem OC of mine, a gladiatrix who fights in arenas on Homeworld, which function as the world's equivalent of recreational sports. A lot of the lore I have for her is regurgitated in the narration.

There are, of course, a couple of lines from "Stronger Than You" in chapter 4. There's the title, plus Turquoise correcting Val that the fight is one-on-two.

When I created the character, I actually completely failed to notice Val's considerable resemblance to Jasper, both in appearance (big, bulky and orange) and personality (haughty, judgmental). Naturally, when it hit me, I wrote in a nod to it in chapter 4.

Chapter 4 sees Turquoise and Val's fight spill into a mall, the very same one from Pearls' Night Out, currently my only other multi-chapter work. Rhiannon and Diane, both OCs from there, also make cameos (Rhiannon is the employee who points Turquoise in Val's direction, Diane is the journalist who interviews her on the street).

Pearl and Jasper handle city planning like military tacticians, because, well, they are military tacticians. They're also very overdramatic about it, natch.

Amazonite is a close friend of mine's gemsona, a former Crystal Gem who retired to become a seamstress after the corrupted Gems were all cured.

A couple of things involving Jasper take inspiration from the excellent Back to Beta. Pearl acts as Jasper's parole officer of sorts, rewarding her with Pearl Points for doing a good job and Jasper has an attachment to Earth music for its ability to say what cannot be said through simple speech, just like in there. Go read Back to Beta if you haven't, it's outstanding (it's also Jaspearl-- look at me go).

In one of many instances of Jodi Doing Too Much Research Into Things That Don't Matter, I actually broke out my copy of SU: Art & Origins to study its map of Beach City to determine just how nitpicky Pearl and Jasper were being.

Why do the Nephrites want to talk to Pearl? Maybe we'll find out....

Garnet "borrowed" Andy's plane to go to Empire City. That's a step up from "finding" a phone, don't you think?

I like to imagine that Bismuth has been rooting for Lapis and Peri to get together since the moment she met them. Her gaydar is just that good.

Believe it or not, I genuinely considered having Turquoise adopt a secret identity at one point during planning. I call myself out on it through Steven in chapter 5.

I knew I just couldn't do this story without Jasper since she is, in a way, the villain (or at least a villain) in Turquoise's origin story. As an abuse survivor, showing the ramifications of her and Lapis' time as Malachite as best I could was tantamount to the main storyline.

Chapters 6-10

The foreshadowing in chapter 6's identity should make Ms. Knight's identity a no-brainer for seasoned SU fans. No one spoil it if you figure it out, though!

Ronaldo is absolutely, positively, 100%, one of the guys who doesn't shower before the convention. That's so him it hurts.

The generally meta premise of chapters 6-9 were the result of me drafting them right after I got home from my city's local big convention, which I had a wonderful time at. I did my first ever cosplay (I was Pearl!) there and managed to hold decent conversations with Zach Callison, Deedee Magno Hall, Michaela Dietz, and Estelle. The layout of DelmarvaCon is even copied from the layout of that convention center.

In one of many moments of narrative intersecting with reality, I did some sleuthing and found that Paulette was, in her very brief on-screen appearance, voiced by Deedee Magno Hall, Pearl's voice actress. As said above, I met Deedee at the con I went to. You know how everyone on and off set never stops talking about how nice she is? They're not exaggerating, she's a fantastic person. Kim Tan is fully based on her, taking her name from a couple of Hall's other roles (Kim in Miss Saigon and a bit character named Lori Tan from an episode of Third Watch) and Lapis and Peridot's encounter with her is based on my own; while she didn't usher us ahead of the line to meet her, she did take pictures of my friend and I's cosplays for free when she was supposed to be charging for them. Seriously, nicest celebrity I've ever met.

Chapter 7 has Peridot riff that she can "observe 800 moving objects and compute their direction of travel," a phrase long used to describe Prowl in the Transformers franchise. It has no character significance here, I was on a Transformers kick at the time of writing.

The uncomfortable pulling sensation mentioned in chapter 7 is called an "itch," a callback to The Itch, the oneshot serving as prelude to this fic. There, "the itch" is used to refer to the deeply unsettling feeling a Gem gets when fitted with limb enhancers-- think the feeling you have or would have felt from a dentist fitting you with those awful rubber bands to help with the braces process, it's that kind of feeling. The feeling being given off by Ronaldo's control device is similar, "adding" to a Gem when nothing need be added.

The long opening narration in chapters 8 and 9 were inspired by the writing style of comic book writer Scott Snyder, who has a tendency to start, end, or intersperse his comics with long, expositional comparative musings on seemingly simple or mundane things (seriously, count the number of times one of his Batman comics opens with narration explaining the philosophical meaning behind the rocks used to make buildings in Gotham City).

The cost of Connie's sword is, as stated in the story proper, a rough estimate borne from around half an hour of research. While there are other pink stones that could've been used, I picked pezzotaite because of its extreme rarity, just to drive home how absurdly all-out Bismuth went on it.

Give Jasper a metal-style song in Season 6, Crewniverse!

I like to think Jasper and Greg would be good friends. Think about it: you've just found out your former moral enemies were not only led by, but had close relationships with, the person you spent your whole life idolizing. Who do you talk to about it? Why not the person who knew her more intimately than anyone else?

At the end of the Turquoise and Steven segment in chapter 10, the two sit down to watch Crying Breakfast Friends' extra-length season finale, in which a number of characters get new outfits. Now what could that be referencing?

The narration of Jasper's thoughts makes reference to the exiled Hessonite, antagonist of Steven Universe: Save the Light and a criminally underrated character.

I'd like to preface this point with a content warning for abuse, as I'll be discussing that a bit here.

So, as I mentioned briefly in the 1-5 notes, I'm an abuse survivor; I broke up with my abuser, who I had been with for just about 3 months, in February of this year. An acquaintance of mine has since drafted a document exhaustively detailing all of the bad shit they did for which receipts could be found, and my abuser has reacted with avoidance, victim blaming, and a refusal to apologize. I wasn't yet aware of just how in denial of her own mistakes they were when I wrote chapter 10, so I tried to write Pearl and Jasper's conversation as how I wished the conversation my abuser had with themselves would go, in a perfect world.

To get reflective for a moment, writing that has taught me, in a way I hadn't seen before, how Steven Universe's real, heartfelt redemption arcs, as fantastically-written and just generally good as they are, don't always apply in real-world scenarios. My shitty ex is not Jasper and they never will be.

#imadethis #intel files #su #lapidot

[thecomicsnexus]

UNCANNY X-MEN #107-108 OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1977 BY CHRIS CLAREMONT, DAVE COCKRUM, DAN GREEN, JOHN BYRNE AND TERRY AUSTIN

SYNOPSIS (FROM MARVEL WIKIA)

After being transported through a star-gate by Phoenix, the X-Men find themselves on an ancient planet that is home to the M'Kraan Crystal, surrounded by several members of the Shi’ar Legion of Super-Heroes Imperial Guard serving the evil Emperor D’Ken. When Cyclops announces that they are there for Lilandra, an enormous battle commences between the two sides. Despite the number of Imperial Guardsmen, the two teams are evenly matched.

When Lilandra is saved from The Soul Drinker unleashed on her by D’Ken, she reveals that he plans to use the M’Kraan Crystal to gain power absolute and that is why she escaped to Earth, having learned of Professor Xavier when he used his mental powers to thwart an alien invasion by the Z'Nox. The tide of the battle is turned by the arrival of the Starjammers, a group of interstellar pirates who aid the X-Men against the Guardsmen. Jean mind-probes their leader Corsair, and is shocked to learn what she finds there, finding it impossible to consider.

Suddenly the M’Kraan Crystal powers up and reality for a fraction of a second ceases to exist. On Earth Peter Corbeau warns the Fantastic Four that should the cosmic blinks continue, the universe will die.

With Emperor D'Ken threatening to destroy the universe by trying to utilize the power of the M'Kraan Crystal, the X-Men and the Starjammers compare notes and come to the conclusion when the specific stars come into alignment the crystal will become available to D'Ken. While on Earth, Peter Corbeau connects with President Carter, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four and tells them some grim news: some strange force is threatening to destroy the universe. Most affected by this is the Wasp, who feels helpless when faced with a crisis even Earth's mightiest heroes cannot stop.

Back on the M'Kraan world, the X-Men approach the crystal and are confronted by its defender, a small being named Jahf. Jahf warns them that he will defend the crystal to his death, and if he is destroyed a being twice as powerful would appear to defend the crystal next. Wolverine mocks the small android and finds himself knocked high into the atmosphere, only saved by the quick thinking of the Starjammer's robot Waldo who teleports Wolverine aboard the ship. Soon Jahf is upon the X-Men and the Starjammers, easily thrashing them with his superior strength. When brute force doesn't work, the X-Men pool their abilities to fight the creature. Storm clouds Jahf in a pea-soup fog allowing Banshee to get close enough to unleash the full fury of his sonic scream. While he manages to destroy Jahf, he strains his vocal chords so raw he can barely talk.

The two teams don't get a moments reprieve, however, they are attacked by the second guardian of the crystal, a giant robot named Modt. During the fight, Raza finds Emperor D'Ken and tosses the despot into the M'Kraan Crystal, causing D'Ken and both groups to be transported within. There they find themselves in a large abandoned city. In the middle a sphere of pure light that Phoenix finds herself drawn to. Upon touching it, everyone present is struck by a bolt of energy that awakens in their mind their greatest fears. Jean manages to shake off the effects on herself, and when Cyclops goes berserk as a result of his illusions she knocks him out. Seeing the sphere being to crack, she channels the full power of her Phoenix powers to it and learns that it is a keeping the birth of a neutron universe at bay, and should the barrier break the universe as they know it would be destroyed to make way for this new universe.

Phoenix attempts to use her powers to repair the damage, however it is not enough as she needs additional life forces to help repair the damage. With only Storm and Corsair free from the sphere's influence, she convinces both to give a portion of their life forces, revealing to Corsair that she knows that he is Christopher Summers. As Jean repairs the damage, Corsair realizes that Cyclops is his long lost son Scott and goes to the unconscious man's side. However, Cyclops never wakes up to learn the truth, as soon as Jean repairs the damage she transports all the X-Men back home through the warp gate that brought them to the crystal.

There they find Professor X, Misty Knight and the Greys waiting and are confronted by Firelord, who explains that he has no quarrel with them anymore after Xavier explained how he was manipulated by Erik the Red. Following after the X-Men is Empress Lilandra, who's coming burns out the warp gate keeping her on Earth. She explains to Charles and the X-Men that while her brother was driven insane by the M'Kraan Crystal she is now the ruler of the Shi'Ar, however there must be time to sort out the red tape to have her rightful place put on the Shi'Ar throne, and until then she is staying on Earth.

CONTEXT

Dave Cockrum was an integral part of the All-New X-Men. Together with Len Wein (and I believe the help of Roy Thomas), they created all the new x-men. The costume designs are pretty much his. And this is what Dave Cockrum enjoyed the most in life, designing and creating characters. These are some quotes from an interview done by Jon B. Cooke:

CBA: Mike Friedrich told me a story that back in 1972 you had an idea for an international team book that eventually turned into the new X-Men. Is that true?

Dave: It wasn't my idea. Roy brought up the idea that he wanted to do a new X-Men book but he was talking about approaching it as "Mutant Blackhawks." That was Roy's suggestion when he took us to a fancy restaurant, telling us to order whatever we wanted—he had a hamburger. That was Roy's proposal: He wanted them international and to operate out of a secret base. Part of the rationale, as I understand it, was that Marvel was looking for foreign markets. And then, ultimately, we picked a bunch of nationalities whose countries weren't liable to buy the book! It never wound up fitting that proposal anyway.

CBA: After that, how long did you work on the proposal?

Dave: I had gone home and started designing some characters, but for some reason, there was a pause in the development, and they just hung fire for months. When it came back, Mike Friedrich wasn't involved any more but Len Wein was. I had drawn up a number of characters: The original black female in the group was to have been called The Black Cat. She had Storm's costume but without the cape, and a cat-like haircut with tufts for ears. Her power was that she could turn into a humanoid cat or a tabby. She wore a collar with a bell on it. When we came back to the project, after the hiatus, all of a sudden all of these other female cat characters had sprung up—Tigra, The Cat, Pantha—so I figured that we'd better overhaul this one! She wound up getting white hair, the cape, and becoming Storm.

CBA: Where did Nightcrawler come from?

Dave: When I was still a fan and in the Navy, my first wife and I were living on Guam in a house in the boonies (which was infested with roaches and rats). There was a terrible storm going on overhead, we had no lights, it was noisy and loud and raining like hell with thunder and lightning. To keep ourselves occupied and keeping ourselves from being scared to death, we sat around making up characters. We made up this duo, a guy I called the Intruder (a cross between the Punisher and Batman, with a chrome skull and black jumpsuit) and his demon sidekick, Nightcrawler. The original concept was a lot different in that Nightcrawler would howl at the moon, run up the sides of buildings and do all kinds of weird sh*t. He really was a demon who had screwed up on a mission from hell and, rather than go back and face punishment, he hung around up here with this do-gooder. So he was considerably overhauled when he wound up in the X-Men.

CBA: What input did you have with Colossus?

Dave: I drew him up and brought him in, saying, "Here's Colossus, our muscle guy." Len came up with the civilian name and origin. So it was my visual. Storm was pretty much the same, though when I wanted to put the white hair on her, everybody said that she'd wind up looking like somebody's grandmother. I said, "Trust me."

CBA: Was Thunderbird your character?

Dave: Yes. When I brought in the first design, everybody said, "He looks like an Air Force pilot!" I had this strange helmet on him that was an Indian design but nobody liked it, so I went back and re-did it.

CBA: So you stayed with the book for two years?

Dave: I stayed through to #107. I couldn't stay with it because I was on staff by that time—my job was to design covers—and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I was tired and I gave it up. Later on, they asked me to do that Marvel Fanfare with the X-Men in the Savage Land and it was fun! I called up Chris and said, "This is really fun! If Byrne ever wants to leave the book, give me another chance at it." And Byrne left the book that following Monday. That was a weird juxtaposition! So I got the book back and I was enthusiastic again. It was fun for a long time.

The only reason I left the book the second time was because I had previously put in a proposal for The Futurians. It sat on Jim Shooter's desk for about a year, and he finally said, "Yeah, you can do this if you want." I was in some doubt whether I should quit the X-Men and do that but I really wanted to do it. Chris and Louise Simonson, the editor, talked me into giving up the X-Men because they thought I was more enthused about The Futurians. That was probably the biggest mistake of my life! That was about the time they started paying the royalties and reprint money. It takes nine months after an issue goes on sale before you get a royalty check so I hadn't received one yet by the time I quit the X-Men. When the first one came it was $2000 right out of the air! I thought, "Geez!" And it got better, and from what I heard, people like Jim Lee were making $40,000 a month on royalties. (That's why they could afford to go off and start Image.) If I had known about that kind of money coming in—even the $2000 a month—you couldn't have pried me off that book with a crowbar. The Futurians was never that successful.

CBA: Did you get to meet Jack Kirby?

Dave: Only once or twice. I had a run-in with him of sorts when I was designing covers. I would normally sketch out a rough and attach a logo to it, and send it out to the artist who was supposed to do it. They were doing "What If Jane Foster had the hammer of Thor?" and they wanted Kirby to do the cover for that. Well, me being me with the peculiar twist of mind that I sometimes have, the logo I put on said, "What if Thor wore a bra?" I sent it out and Jack and Mrs. Kirby were totally scandalized, sent it back, and refused to have anything to do with it. The powers-that-be demanded, "What are you doing to Kirby?! You've pissed off Jack Kirby!" I said, "But, but, but..." and they wound up having the cover done by John Buscema.

There was another time when I was working with Stan on the Fantastic Four cartoon. For whatever reason, they couldn't use the Human Torch, so I had the task of designing Herbie the Robot. I thought the whole notion of replacing the Torch with a robot was so lame, all I would come up with were stupid ideas: One of them looked like a trash can on wheels with a "4" on it, another was a lamp on wheels with a "4" on it. After a half-dozen of these, Stan says, "You know, you're really hard to work with!" And he called up Jack and had him do it.

So we know the reason for his departure may not have been caused by the impossibility of the this team to deliver on time, but because it was too much (it may still be that though). So who can replace Dave Cockrum on X-Men?

With Byrne there, a man known for being prolific (and high quality at being that), the title didn’t get monthly right away. So I am not sure what was the defining factor for Byrne being in this title, but I can tell you this... THE REST IS HISTORY!

REVIEW

So now to the issues in question. I have been explaining before how much I didn’t enjoy Cockrum as interior artist. His last issue, though... is very good. I don’t know if it is the experience with the characters, the Legion of Super-heroes rip-off or what... but he was on fire in that issue. Sure, Colossal Boy rip-off is the most obvious thing even on the cover... but Wolverine takes down Timberwolf rip-off and puts on his costume.

As for the last issue of this saga... what happened to Claremont all of a sudden? I noticed he liked to write funny, but he is a poet all of a sudden. And Byrne really elevates his writing. John Byrne is not the kind of person that usually just does his job (sometimes he just draws for the fun of it, though), so I can imagine that the X-Men as we know them wouldn’t be possible without the collaboration of these two legends.

With this classic issues I feel tempted to see the art with the originals, and the re-colored (usually for digital) versions. The Batman digital comics were recolored in an awful way so I usually try to avoid those... but this run... I don’t know. The coloring would probably get in the way of Terry Austin’s inks.

Welcome to the X-men, folks!

I give these issues a score of 8

#dave cockrum #danny crespi #annette kawecki #phoenix saga #bronze age #marvel comics #comics #review #1977 #uncanny x-men #x-men #phoenix #john byrne #dark phoenix

[rinnnyxr]

-

1. I live on the Eastern Hemisphere. 2. My nails are painted a dark color. 3. There is someone else in the room with me. 4. It’s one of my relatives’ birthday today. 7. I ate breakfast this morning. 8. My favorite color is purple. 9. I have at least one sister. 10. I use Degree deodorant. 11. I live in a big city. 12. I hate the way my bedroom is decorated. 13. I would never have white walls unless there’s color in some of the furniture. 14. I still have braces on my teeth. 15. My birthday is in winter. 16. I usually read for fun. 17. I use Post-Its a lot. 18. I’m a vegetarian or a vegan. 19. I live in a really small state. country. 20. There is nothing to do in my town. 21. My parents are divorced. 22. I cannot stand when little kids curse. 23. I’m going out with my friends tonight. 24. I actually like staying at home sometimes. 25. One of my favorite things to wear is hoodies. 26. I follow sports, but I don’t play them. 27. My favorite color is unpopular. 28. I’m attending my first year of college this school year. 29. I hear a dog barking right now. 30. I have seen a dog and a catfight. 31. I drive a red car. 32. My laptop, or computer, is black. 33. One of my friends is really annoying. 34. I don’t smoke weed or do any other stupid drug. 35. I don’t have a job at the moment. 36. One of my friends has a baby of their own. 37. I have a boyfriend/girlfriend. 38. I go to parties often. 39. I’d rather use a fan than an air conditioner. 40. I watch a lot of YouTube videos. 41. I have a piece of jewelry that I wear all the time. 42. Sometimes I wish I can move far away. 43. I want to be a doctor when I’m older. 44. My siblings and parents fight all the time. 45. You can find my favorite animal at a zoo. 46. I brush my teeth three times a day. 47. My mom and I are really close. 48. I’m secretly really jealous of my sibling. 49. I love to take showers in the morning. It wakes me up. 50. I hate flip flops and I never wear them.

-

[1990]

Home Alone  Ghost Dances With Wolves Pretty Woman Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Hunt For Red October Total Recall Die Hard 2: Die Harder Dick Tracy Kindergarten Cop Back to the Future III Presumed Innocent Days of Thunder Another 48 HRS. Three Men and A Little Lady

[1991]

Terminator 2: Judgement Day Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Beauty and the Beast The Silence of the Lambs City Slickers Hook The Addams Family Sleeping With the Enemy Father of the Bride The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear Fried Green Tomatoes Cape Fear Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II Backdraft Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country

[1992]

Aladdin Home Alone 2: Lost In New York Batman Returns Lethal Weapon 3 A Few Good Men Sister Act The Bodyguard Wayne’s World Basic Instinct A League of Their Own Unforgiven The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Under Siege Patriot Games Bram Stoker’s Dracula

[1993]

Jurassic Park Mrs. Doubtfire The Fugitive The Firm Sleepless In Seattle Indecent Proposal In the Line of Fire The Pelican Brief Schindler’s List Cliffhanger Free Willy Philadelphia Groundhog Day Grumpy Old Men Cool Runnings

[1994]

Forrest Gump The Lion King True Lies The Santa Clause The Flintstones Dumb and Dumber Clear and Present Danger Speed The Mask Pulp Fiction Interview With the Vampire Maverick The Client Disclosure Star Trek: Generations

[1995]

Toy Story Batman Forever Apollo 13 Pocahontas Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls Goldeneye Jumanji Casper Seven Die Hard: With A Vengeance Crimson Tide Waterworld Dangerous Minds Mr. Holland’s Opus While You Were Sleeping

[1996]

Independence Day Twister Mission Impossible Jerry Maguire Ransom 101 Dalmatians The Rock The Nutty Professor The Birdcage A Time To Kill The First Wives Club Phenomenon Scream Eraser The Hunchback of Notre Dame

[1997]

Titanic Men In Black Jurassic Park: The Lost World Liar Liar Air Force One As Good As It Gets Good Will Hunting My Best Friend’s Wedding Tomorrow Never Dies Face/Off Batman and Robin George of the Jungle Scream 2 Con Air Contact

[1998]

Saving Private Ryan Armageddon There’s Something About Mary A Bug’s Life The Waterboy Doctor Dolittle Rush Hour Deep Impact Godzilla Patch Adams Lethal Weapon 4 The Truman Show Mulan You’ve Got Mail Enemy of the State

[1999]

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace The Sixth Sense Toy Story 2 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me The Matrix Tarzan Big Daddy The Mummy Runaway Bride The Blair Witch Project Stuart Little The Green Mile American Beauty The World Is Not Enough Double Jeopardy

-

amsterdam: messy hair, open-minded, old notebooks, the color black, smudged eyeliner, eye bags, gentle kisses, bruised knuckles, black coffee, sneaking out at midnight, starry skies, holding hands, blushing, wandering through cities /7

tokyo: soft smiles, looks intimidating, intelligent beings, mirror selfies, watching horror movies, rainy days, great sense of fashion, photography, writing poems, misty forests, fantasy books, the scent of vanilla, cats, green tea /6

london: powerful presence, conspiracy theories, astronomy, believes in fate, cares but doesn’t show it, late night talks, fuzzy socks, hot chocolate, genuine laughs, trying to be the better version of themselves, introverted /5

paris: oversized sweaters, roses, indie songs, coffee shops, longing after romance, nostalgia, ponytails, rosy cheeks, painted nails, taking polaroid pictures, pretty handwriting, playing the ukulele, thrift-shopping, freckles /6

I am: Amsterdam. 

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #444

Top Ten PlayStation Games I Hope Get PC Releases

And once again I turn my steely eye to the world of gaming. This time though I’m pulling on my blue jumper and talking about PlayStation (because I guess Xbox would have a green one and Nintendo’s would be red? I dunno, I’m making this up as I go). I’ve said in the past that as much as I like Sony and would love a PlayStation, I’ve never actually owned one myself because I always tend to buy an Xbox first. As much as I love the gaming industry, gaming as a past-time, and games themselves as an art-form, I have a rapidly dwindling supply of free time and unfortunately once I factor in trying to see enough films to maintain polite conversation and staring at my phone for hours on end in order to maximise my ennui, I don’t have an awful lot of minutes left in the day to dive into a wide variety of triple-A titles. As such, because I’m used to the Xbox’s way of working, because I tend to prefer its controllers and its whole ecosystem, and because I love several of their franchises (Halo and Fable especially), it’s always Xbox I gravitate towards, and then I just don’t have enough gaming time left over to justify the expense of a second huge console. And let’s get it out of the way – the PlayStation 5 is huge.

As a result, as time has gone on, there is an ever-growing number of PlayStation exclusives that I’ve barely played. In The Olden Days this was less of a problem, as pre-kids (and, heck, pre-everything considering how old the original PlayStation is at this point) I was able to saunter over to a friend’s house and try out games on their console. In this fashion I sampled a good many PS1 and PS2 titles such as Metal Gear Solid, WipeOut, Resident Evil, Time Splitters, Ico, and my absolute favourite, the original PS2 Transformers game. By the time PS3 rolled around this happened more rarely, but I’d argue it was fairly late in the generation when they showed off any games that really interested me (specifically those from Naughty Dog); and with the PS4, I’ve barely played on one at all, more’s the pity. And I really do mean more’s the pity, because this time around there have been loads of games I wanted; they really have had a better generation than Xbox, even if I couldn’t give up my Halo or Gears, to say nothing of the huge collection of backwards compatible games that get played to death by my kids.

That’s why I’m overjoyed that Sony have finally taken a leaf out of Microsoft’s book and are starting to release some of their bigger games on PC. I’ve been largely laptop-only for about a decade now, but it is a very powerful laptop, even if it’s not dedicated gaming hardware, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised how well it manages to run even quite demanding 3D games such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or Gears Tactics (I really must try out Flight Simulator sometime soon). The first big Sony exclusives to drop on Steam are Death Stranding (which looks bonkers but not my cup of tea) and the intriguing Horizon: Zero Dawn, which I’d probably really like. But those were never the Sony games that totally floated my boat; no, there are others, and I would absolutely love it if Sony saw fit to unleash them on Steam in the near future. Hey, I’m not picky; you don’t need to day-and-date it. I don’t mind enjoying a “Part I” whilst PS5 gamers are playing the hot new “Part II”. But I increasingly think be-all-and-end-all exclusives are rather old-fashioned, and whilst I get that there should probably be games tied to specific boxes, the services those box-companies provide should be more universal. That’s why I like Microsoft’s Play Anywhere initiative and the mobile game streaming via xCloud. But this is a Sony list, and these are some very, very good Sony games. I assume. By and large, I haven’t played them.

Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018): I love Rocksteady’s Arkham series of Batman games, but I do find them a bit relentlessly dark and miserable with an oh-so-gritty art style. What could be better, then, than a game that seems to play broadly similar but is nice, bright, funny, and sunny? Spider-Man is the perfect hero for that sort of game, and this looks absolutely like everything I’d ever want from a superhero game. I really, really, hope it comes to PC at some point, but I’ll be honest, I doubt it.

The Last of Us (2013): I like a good third-person action-adventure, whether it’s Gears, Tomb Raider, or Jedi: Fallen Order. TLOU looks most up my street, however, for its story, and its seemingly moving depiction of a family unit forming amidst the end of the world. By all accounts it’s a tear-jerker; I’ve tried to steer clear of the plot. Porting it over to PC whilst the well-received sequel is getting an inevitable PS5 upgrade seems like a good idea.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (2015): I’ve very briefly played one of the Uncharteds, but not really; I hear they’re like the Tomb Raider reboot, but better, which seems nice. A rollicking third-person action-adventure with an Indiana Jones spirit? Count me in. With the long-mooted film adaptation finally underway, COVID notwithstanding, it seems like a good time to let PC gamers have a go at the classic saga. I’d add part 4 to the existing trilogy collection before shunting it to Steam.

Shadow of the Colossus (2018): I’ve played Ico a bit so I’m broadly familiar with the tone of these games, but Colossus seems like an even cooler idea. Scaling moving monsters, killing them but feeling guilty, sounds like both a great gameplay mechanic and a moving and evocative theme for a game. Port the recent remake to PC please, Mr. Sony.

Ratchet and Clank (2016): full disclosure: the new PS5 Ratchet game is the only title I’ve seen demoed that really looks next-gen, with its fancy ray-tracing, excessive particle effects, and funky portal-based gameplay. How’s about, then, giving PC gamers a chance to enjoy the relatively-recent remake of the very first game? A bit of cross-promotion works wonders, Sony.

God of War (2018): the old PS3-era God of War games never really appealed, I guess because I’m not always a huge fan of hack-and-slash and they gave off a kind of crazy excessive, almost laddish vibe that I found off-putting (having not played them, I may be being incredibly unfair). The new one, though, sounds like it’s all about being a dad and being sad and remorseful, so count me in.

Wipeout Omega Collection (2017): I’ve always enjoyed arcade racers, but one sub-genre that I don’t think gets enough love is a futuristic racer, especially where you’ve got hover cars (they seemed to be quite popular twenty-odd years ago). I played the original Wipeout on my mate’s OG PlayStation, but I’d love it if us PC gamers could play the whole series. Could it possibly be even better than Star Wars Episode I Racer?

LittleBigPlanet 3 (2014): chances are, if I’d done this list back around the time the first two LittleBigPlanet games were released, they’d have topped the chart. They looked like cool, fun platform games, with a fantastic creative aspect; I bet my kids would love them. With that in mind, I’d be over the moon to see Sackboy take a bow on Steam. I’d have put Dreams on this list, incidentally, except I can’t see myself getting a VR set anytime soon.

The Last Guardian (2016): feels a bit of a cheat having both this and Colossus on the list, but I do want to see what the fuss is about. One of those games infamous for its time in development, it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it affair, and I am intrigued. Plus I want to know who dies at the end, the boy or the monster.

Killzone Shadow Fall (2013): gaming cliché has it that Nintendo does cutesy platformers, Microsoft does shooters, and Sony does third-person action-adventures; so whilst I’m well-versed in Halo and Gears, I’ve never sampled PlayStation’s key FPS franchise. Famous for its genuinely wowing showcase when the PS4 was announced, I’m not sure how good Shadow Fall actually is (or any of its predecessors for that matter) but I’d be very interested in finding out. Alternatively, give us one of the Resistance games and let me tear around an alternative Manchester or something.

So, there we are; ten games that I think are probably quite good – or even, y’know, masterpieces – but I’ve not had the chance to really sample them yet. And short of me picking up a PlayStation on the cheap, I don’t know when I really can. I mean, I told myself I’d buy a second-hand PS3 and a copy of TLOU once this current generation was in full swing, but that never happened. So throw me a bone, Sony! I still want to buy your stuff! Just sell it somewhere else! Somewhere I already am! Like Steam! Please?!

#top ten #games #gaming #sony #playstation #playstation 4 #playstation 5 #ps5

[wits-writing]

BOOKENDS: Morrison/Porter JLA

I wanted to do something Justice League related before the release of the movie this week. Part of me wanted to do a full reread and analysis of Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s run on JLA, but I wouldn’t have the time. Only looking at one story arc from the run was something else I considered, but picking one story from one of my favorite comic runs wouldn’t give me as much space to talk about broader themes. So, this will be a little experiment.

Welcome to “Bookends”: A series of essays where I take the opening and closing stories from a longform serialized narrative in any medium talk about the story’s evolution over time and how each story works as a beginning/ending respectively.

I’ll be looking at JLA: New World Order and JLA: World War III from writer Grant Morrison and artist Howard Porter. Their JLA run gets touted as one of the best in the team’s 57-year history and it’s easy to see why, despite some problems I’ll get into later. In the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths, due to some editorial problems about what was going on with different major characters in the new status quo of the DC Universe, they couldn’t start with the A-List heroes many expected on the team. The new Justice League book would start in 1987 and mostly be a team of second string heroes that would go on to be the basis of the fondly remembered Justice League International era. It wouldn’t be until 1997 that the group fans refer to as “The Big Seven”; Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, would take center stage of the new on-going Justice League of America comic.

[Full article under the cut]

The Series:

That comic, simply titled JLA, ended up being headlined by Morrison and Porter with inker John Dell. Part of Morrison’s reason for doing the book, which they state in their novel Supergods, was to remind publishers that they were capable of more mainstream work than the mind-bending fringe titles they were mainly known for at the time and still are to an extent. Their high-concept for the series was superheroes as larger than life mythical gods. Approaching the League this way lead to stories on a scale that usually gets reserved for event comics or multi-book crossovers as the order of the day for these adventures. Stories sent the League through space, into their own minds, the future and across dimensions and pitted them against foes both new and familiar. These stories also hit key points in Grant Morrison’s grand DC Comics metanarrative that plays at least a small part in every book they’ve done for the company.

These stories get as superhero as comics can be while still feeling accessible. New World Order, despite a little continuity cleanup from the previous Justice League run at the start, let’s the familiar iconography work to help the reader keep pace with everything going on.

The Beginning:

New World Order (JLA #1-4) shows the recently teamed-up Big Seven fighting against the threat of the Hyperclan, a team of alien superheroes, each with Superman-level powers of their own, claiming they’ll save humanity from the Earth’s environmental decline. It’s revealed quickly that the Hyperclan are up to no good as the JLA realize that facilities they’ve built on Earth are being used to send out mind control signals to humanity. The team splits up and goes across the globe to disable these devices to save the world. In the end, it’s revealed that the Hyperclan are the warmongering White Martians (making their first appearance in the DCU) and merely the forerunners to a larger invasion. The JLA stop the invasion before it begins by using the villains’ mental broadcast equipment against them to tell all of humanity about the Martian weakness to fire.

The Ending:

World War III (JLA #36-41) brings the run to an end with the JLA’s battle to stop the Anti-Sun Mageddon, an ancient cosmic weapon designed to kill gods. Before the League can take any pre-emptive actions, Lex Luthor’s Injustice Gang strikes at them. Meanwhile, the heroes of Earth are all brought in to manage the chaos on Earth caused by Mageddon’s influence. Elements from every story in the run, plus some Morrison material outside of it, leading up to this are brought in to add to the scale of this story, character arcs for individual members are concluded and a climax that brings into full view how much these superheroes have been able to do for humanity.

Parallels:

On the surface the main villains in these stories present different kinds of threats to the JLA. From theme to names to character design, the Hyperclan are perversions of what it means to be a superhero. Direct action on the issues facing humanity are a major part of how they initially sell themselves to humanity as faux-saviors. They turn deserts fertile and publicly execute supercriminals. Showy displays of “might makes right” force that Superman calls out as spectacle. Pitting the classic heroes of the DC Universe against characters that represent a modern take on the concept is a trick that didn’t start here and would go on to make other comebacks in future stories, notably in the Superman story “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way.” In the case of New World Order, the device is used to show why these superheroes shouldn’t simply use their powers to overhaul the Earth’s problems. It’s their job to be exemplars for the rest of humanity to follow and it’s a key theme throughout Morrison’s JLA that people can reach for those impossible heights and beyond. The Hyperclan underestimating what humans without powers, including Batman, are capable of ends up their undoing as Batman pieces together their Martian nature and uses it against them.

Mageddon in World War III presents the JLA with a threat that takes the capacity people have to stand stronger together and twist it to create chaos. The Anti-Sun’s form is never seen in full, the closest the story comes is a shot of what appears to be its face barely contained in a full-page spread with Earth in the foreground for scale. It’s a cosmic, existential threat as much as a physical one. For the first half of the story, Mageddon is only spoken of and the influence it has can be felt in everything the heroes are trying to stop. The first thing we see of this primordial weapon is the aftermath of its strike against the supergods of Wonder World, turning what was supposed to be existence’s first line of defense against each other and destroying themselves. The early parts of the story mainly consist of dealing with Mageddon’s slowly increasing influence over Earth with every nation on the planet prepared to go to war with each other. The other key threat in this story is Lex Luthor’s Injustice Gang, which includes himself, Prometheus (a villain created during this run), Queen Bee and General Eiling. They think they’re in control in their plot to destroy the League by sabotaging the moonbase Watchtower and take credit for the building conflicts on Earth, only for Luthor to discover they’re pawns under Mageddon’s influence. The Injustice Gang ultimately serve Mageddon’s purpose by keeping the League occupied during its approach.

Both threats are ultimately defeated through methods that reinforce the key theme of the JLA under Morrison and Porter, that superheroes are at their strongest when inspiring people to stand together. Humanity’s potential to become something greater recurs throughout Morrison’s body of work, probably taking on one of its more literal forms by the end of this run. The White Martians and Mageddon each work to undermine that potential. Protex, leader of the Hyperclan, refers to humanity as “stunted slaves” that should be ruled over by the superpowerful during his final showdown with Superman. The White Martian talks about how they were able to manipulate primordial life on Earth and humanity will never reach what they could’ve become. Superman understands that humanity believes in him and he believe in them. It’s why he needs to be the one who sends the message to humanity about how to exploit the White Martians’ weakness, so the invasion can end before it begins. Humanity can’t be forced into greatness, that can only be accomplished by a steady climb to always get better and the JLA will be there, as Superman puts it, “To catch them if they fall.”

How they’re ultimately able to defeat Mageddon comes back to this idea in a big way. Over the course of World War III, many forces that could help the League, including Heaven itself (I’ll get back to that), are already convinced that Mageddon’s assault spells the end for existence. The power in this massive ancient weapon brings even Superman to his knees when he tries to assault the Anti-Sun from the inside, subjecting him to the full force of existential dread and depression it broadcasts. Thanks to multiple elements from the Morrison/Porter’s JLA run, the League broadcasts their own signal that unlocks all of humanity’s dormant potential and none of them hesitate to help their heroes. It’s being told about humanity standing together against the end of existence that frees Superman from Mageddon’s influence and leads to them cancelling the apocalypse.

Superman and Batman’s friendship and respect for each other plays into both conflicts as well. In New World Order, Superman is certain the Hyperclan are going to lose the second he realizes they’re underestimating Batman, tying into the theme of that story. It’s because Batman works out the Hyperclan’s Martian nature that Superman can break out of a mental trap they’ve put him in. That gets paralleled in World War III when Bruce, using Martian Manhunter as a mental go-between, reminds Clark about why they fight against all odd in a universe that couldn’t care one way or another. This results in a great panel by Porter and Dell featuring a mental image of an amalgamated version of the tragedies that define Clark, Bruce and J’onn’s origins.

The similarities between the main threats of these stories and how they resolve was a key inspiration for why they serve as a testing ground for “Bookends.” New World Order ends with Superman affirming that they’ll always be there to pick humanity up and keep them on the path to become better. World War III resolves when Superman realizes that humanity will likewise be there for him if he ever fell. Morrison’s bibliography often comes back to the power of ideas over reality and the concepts of inspiration and belief in each other are the ideas that manage to save the world in JLA.

Development:

Most of the development over the course of this run occurs in Howard Porter’s art. His linework at the beginning reflects a lot of art trends of mid-90s superhero comics and not just because Superman sports his post-Death/Return mullet. It has a sharp angular quality that works in favor of dynamic action sequences and the designs of the Hyperclan members, especially once they revert to their white Martian forms. Character emotions and other beats are usually served for the worse. There are some key exceptions in New World Order, most notably the smile on Superman’s face when he realizes that the Hyperclan have underestimated Batman’s capabilities. By World War III Porter’s art shifts to an overall cleaner style, human figures are more evenly proportioned and expressions are more recognizable. Helping matters is that the inking by John Dell seems less heavy by the end of the run as well.

The shifts in Morrison’s writing style between stories are subtler, such as the lack of narrative captions to emphasize the mood of the scene by the time World War III begins. Otherwise the shifts aren’t as much in style as in what elements are brought into JLA between the beginning and the end. Morrison and Porter created multiple new concepts and characters through the run that make major comebacks by the end. New villains like the previously mentioned White Martians and Prometheus would go beyond this run to play key roles in other major DC Comics stories (for better or worse.) The run also got more cosmic as it ran on in the buildup to the final story, with concept like Wonder World and the enlistment of the New Gods, namely Big Barda and Orion, among the JLA’s membership. The lineup expansion also included new heroes like Zauriel, the angel who fell to Earth so he can protect the woman he loves, and Aztek, a Grant Morrison and Mark Millar created hero who was designed to stop Tezcatlipoca (which turns out to be one of Mageddon’s other names.)

Beyond new concepts and expansion into a cosmic scope, Morrison would also start bringing in elements from the DC Universe like Barbara Gordon as Oracle managing the JLA’s tactics, John Henry Irons as Steel working as the Watchtower’s main engineer, Helena Bertinelli as Huntress working to prove herself a hero to Batman, and finally Plastic Man. Even all of that is only the stuff introduced in this run that’s most relevant to the bookending stories. So much of this comes into play in World War III that there’s so many moving parts involved and how the story keeps transitioning between all of them can make losing track  in certain spots understandable.

The Big Seven themselves are mostly left to stand as the mythic icons Morrison intended them to be in this run, reacting to threats as they arise. The ones who show the clearest development between the two stories are Wally West as The Flash and Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern. Kyle Rayner was still a relatively new creation at the time of this series, first introduced a mere three years earlier, so his rookie status and having to live up to the legacy of Green Lantern are the main sources of internal conflict for him. Wally starts off the story incredulous at this young guy who’s taken up a major legacy out of nowhere, when he was a superhero for years before taking up the Flash’s cowl. Wally does manage to gain respect for Kyle as a teammate by the end and Kyle fully steps into the role of Green Lantern in World War III by stepping up to help lead the heroes of Earth against Mageddon.

Revisiting New World Order and World War III does a lot to reaffirm why these characters are so interesting when they’re allowed to exist in these stories on their own terms. They’re the types of stories that work best in a serialized format like superhero comics. People are weary of continuity for multiple reasons, some of which I’ve gone into here, but stories like the ones in the Morrison/Porter run on JLA are some of the best arguments in its favor. To paraphrase Kyle Kallgren’s video essay on Buckaroo Banzai, no other genre would try and no other audience could buy into it without the context continuity creates.

Morrison/Porter’s JLA ends one of my favorite ways for serialized narratives to end, a reminder that things don’t end. As they’re winding down from fighting against a godkilling weapon, they receive a new report that Doctor Destiny has a new plot brewing and spring back into action, even if it’s a smaller threat. I love this type of ending because in life, even when things seem to be at peace, we always have to face the next day and we have the strength to get through it.

#Justice League #JLA #Grant Morrison #Howard Porter #Comic book review #comic book analysis #Wit's Writing #Bookends #DC Comics #Superman #Wonder Woman #Batman #The Flash #Wally West #Green Lantern #Kyle Rayner #Aquaman #Martian Manhunter #Justice League of America #John Dell

[daleisgreat]

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

The time has come to put a bookend to keeping up with Kevin Smith with today’s entry focusing on his latest film, 2019’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (trailer). Before we get there, I feel obligated to say I was a huge fan of his first half of his career, primarily of his old ‘View Askew-niverse’ days when he first started off with affable stoner characters, Jay & Silent Bob being carryover characters in his first several films. I think I saw Clerks and Mallrats at least five times each and feel safe in saying those two would stand the test of time, especially Clerks. I dug Chasing Amy, Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back when they originally released in my teenager days, but cannot help but think I outgrew Smith’s style of verbiage and humor he honed in on by that point, and have a feeling I would cringe at going back to them. I think I would like Zack & Miri and Clerks 2 more if some certain scenes got nixed. I thought Jersey Girl and Copout were not among his best, but both solid studio comedies and a nice way to mix it up from his regular output at the time. Red State felt like a hard left turn for Smith, and some parts I detested, but it kind of came together towards the end. Tusk however was absolute dreck and upon hearing how his follow up Yoga Hosers was an all-in spinoff of Tusk caused me to avoid Yoga Hosers at all costs and casually back away from the Kevin Smith fandom. This brings us to Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. The sequel/reboot to 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. 18 year-old Dale, eagerly anticipated Strike Back, rushed out to see it opening weekend and poured through the DVD in multiple viewings of it and all its extras in the weeks after it hit home video. 37 year-old Dale however ignored Reboot during Smith’s nationwide tour where the only way to see it for several months was when Smith was touring it to boutique arthouse theaters and doing a Q&A afterwards for around $50-80. I only reluctantly picked up Reboot a few weeks after it hit video when I noticed it was on sale for half off and thought for that price I could get my fill out of it with some expected callbacks and cameos that were a big standout in Strike Back and I hope would save Reboot….and that is essentially what happened.

Reboot kicks off with Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) up to their old shenanigans loitering outside the Quick Stop, until they are promptly arrested, but saved in court thanks in part to their attorney. The attorney then informs he just tricked them into signing away their names to big budget Hollywood studios who want to reboot the Bluntman & Chronic movie Jay & Silent Bob failed at preventing in Strike Back. Worst of all, the reboot will be directed by Kevin Smith who is advertising fans to attend a fan fest in Hollywood to audition for a cameo! This leads to the duo condemning Kevin Smith, and travelling across the nation to stop Hollywood once again. Conflicts arise during their journey when they run into Jay’s old flame, Justice (Shannon Elizabeth) who informs Jay that he is now a dad. He soon meets his daughter Milly (Harley Quinn Smith), who brings her friends to tag along in order to win that cameo spot in the movie contest. I do not want to be a downer, but the actual core movie I did not care for that much. Jay’s potty-mouth humor had me in stitches in its small doses when he was a side character in the early Smith films, but it is agonizingly overkill here. There are the occasional gags that landed, like a certain free bonus a cab driver offered that appeared a handful of times throughout and Kevin Smith is legitimately good at portraying a kind of over-the-top grating version of himself at the fan convention. Jay eventually putting in an earnest effort at being a good dad in some of the final scenes culminated in some touching moments with Milly. These core parts of the movie that I enjoyed though are only peppered throughout, but what wound up saving Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was the avalanche of cameos littered from beginning to end.

There are some expected cameos from Jason Lee and Ben Affleck coming back as their former View Askew-niverse personas as Brodie and Holden, respectively. I feel safe saying that is not a spoiler since those two had extended cameos relative to the core plot in Strike Back and more-or-less do the same in Reboot. However for the rest of the film, well….I think Kevin Smith dialed in a lot of favors because this is one of the most impressive deluge of cameos in a film yet. Some play amped up versions of themselves, while others are quirky shillers for Funko Pops. During those struggling first two acts of the film, the saving grace was seeing who would pop up next and what Smith had in store for them. There are countless blink and miss it callbacks and references to other View Askew lore and Smith fandom throughout, especially at the convention in the end. I remember Kevin Smith’s early movies being loaded with extra features, and while there is a fair smattering here, it is comparatively lackluster to the deluxe sets from yore. I was stunned the BluRay omits a commentary track which are usually present in most of Smith’s home video releases. I do not blame him since he re-watched it dozens of times on his nationwide tour, but……hold on scratch that after a quick Google search it appears a month ago Smith released a special quarantined-themed commentary track for the film for free on YouTube that can be found right here. Good on him for that! Actual extras on the BluRay are highlighted by a near hour-long bonus merely titled ‘Cast Interviews.’ It is a barrage of two-to-three minute interviews from nearly all the major and minor/cameo players from the film. Lots of good little anecdotes in there and well worth your time! Following that is a half hour extra where Mewes and Smith interview a variety of the cast and crew which a third of is dedicated to….one major cameo I shall not name here. I will give props to Mewes for randomly getting quick interviews from some of the behind-the-scenes crew to make sure they get their proper due. Wrapping up the bonuses is the requisite blooper reel that does not disappoint and a two minute Hair Reel which is solely of Smith and Mewes adjusting their hair between takes.

Part of me wanted to say Reboot was the ideal farewell film of Kevin Smith to watch, but I see he has Clerks III in the pipeline, so I will ultimately have to cave and check that out too. Regardless, if you are a lapsed Kevin Smith fan and wanted one last trek with his style of comedy you grew up with, you kind of get that here and you also get why you left that in the past too. Regardless, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot does have its moments, and the cameos make it well worth riding this out until the end….including all the bonus shots/alt footage in the credits, lots of gold in there too including one last cameo I did not anticipate. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Not for Resale Pulp Fiction The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

#random movie #jay and silent bob #jay and silent bob reboot #kevin smith #jason mewes #ben affleck #jason lee #shannon elizabeth #harley quinn smith

[inkdrinkershadowsinger]

Liam Payne Astrology Interpretation

LIAM PAYNE

Credit to Café Astrology. The normal font is straight from their website, the italicized are my thoughts.

              Sun in Virgo

It is rare to find the stereotypical nitpicky, exacting, “clean freak” in modern-day Virgos. Unless your Niall Horan, but this is Liam’s chart. Virgo people are generally respectable, hard-working individuals who have a love of knowledge and know how. No one can doubt how hard Liam works. How many songs did he and Louis write during One Direction? Almost all of them on their last three albums, though Midnight Memories is still my favorite. There was that thing around that said Liam was the one that signed all the financial documents for the band, which I wouldn’t doubt. He always pushed the boys to work harder, to practice more, especially during the early years, and while on the X-Factor, because the band their success, really meant something to Liam. Without this sense of responsibility I don’t know if they would have succeeded as well as they did.

            Virgos are sensitive to their surroundings, and they tend to embarrass easily. Or frustrate easily. Thanks, Louis. However, once they are comfortable, they can talk up a storm. And talk and talk and talk. Liam does seem to be a bit of a chatterbox for sure. Many Virgo suns are not too comfortable with the limelight. Why he seems like a Leo to me more than a Virgo. Solar Virgos have a strong sense of responsibility. Even when they’ve convinced themselves to be irresponsible about something or the other, they worry about it. This is Liam to the letter.

            However, when Solar Virgos are not involved in some kind of a project, there is generally a vague feeling of discontent. He talked a lot before the hiatus about that. He said he didn’t know what he was going to do with all his free time. He was quite anxious about it. No worries, just turned out he was gonna make another human being. What an overachiever.

            Even when their lives are filled up with work, they are restless and somewhat nervous creatures. Yup. The fear of under-performing is often strong. Nervous Nancy. In fact, Virgos are often self-effacing and shy. Or dorky and endearing. They need your respect and appreciation. To be praised. Add plenty of worthwhile projects to keep them busy, and Virgos can be some of the sweetest, kindest people around. He is very smart and kind. He always smiles in fan pictures and is super nice to them, and I admire that.

            Sun in 10th

The urge to work toward a goal, for success and accomplishment, and/or for power is part of your make-up. He wants to succeed. See out a career that allows you to manage, rather than be managed, if possible. Check. Successful career is guaranteed, but may sometimes come late. If this album flops he’ll be back in a few years with a killer album cause he’s brilliant, hard-working, talented, and won’t give up.

  1062 Conjunction Sun-Mercury

            Because your ego and your mind are aligned, you possess much mental energy. Busy mind, can’t sit still. You are highly intelligent with a great drive to communicate with others. He’s smart in the things he wants to be smart in. You may not always listen as well as you speak, however. He said something like this in their last book, about learning to not speak over people. You might be too busy thinking about what to say next. Some listen. Some just wait for their next chance to talk. As far as studying or learning goes, you are better off reading the material than listening to a teacher. Self-taught. He finished school at his own pace because school stood in the way of what he really wanted which was to go back on the X-Factor again. These traits come from a strong need to take an active role in communications. It is very hard for you to passively listen and absorb information. He knew finishing school would help him get to his future so he did it. He went after what he wanted. Very admirable.

            Your opinions are usually strong and you are an independent thinker. In the Lilo, Louis and Liam, writing team one would automatically assume that Louis would be the one to push or to be the super outspoken one, but this would disagree with that and so would I. Louis is way more the type to just put his hands up verses Liam who if he really wanted something he would dig his hands in until he got it. Louis would see another way to get what he wanted. Liam would believe his opinion or thought was right and would never give in. You tend to be proud of your opinions and thoughts, and might easily get a bruised ego if you are not “heard”, if your opinions are pushed aside or ignored, or if your opinions are criticized. I can see this. You are expressive and possibly a very animated speaker. You can’t listen to Liam talk and not smile or feel what he feels. He talks like he’s just so excited to get every new syllable out. How can you not love that?

            You are also very witty and others enjoy your playful and sometimes mischievous sense of humor. Dorky would be a better word.

            Moon in Aquarius

            Moon in Aquarius people are extremely observant. He knows how to work a crowd. Banana suit? He’s got that. Silly voices, extra songs, he gives the people what they want. This often stems from a detached-even shy- personality, especially in youth. He had experiences with bullying. Whether due to character or conditioning, Moon in Aquarius people often grow up feeling “different”. The weird kid that like music too much over the more traditional sporty, laddy types. Although they are rather sociable, they are often loners at heart. Someone build a time machine, go back in time, and tell him how wonderful his life’s going to be, please. Many have strong egos. Liam genuinely believes that he can do anything now. So he does. It’s not a nasty ego, just the confidence he never really had before.

            Lunar Aquarians can be very willful, especially in childhood. Liam and his muddy jeans. They are generally proud of their family members, boasting just how unique they are. I feel like he really loves his family. And he’s super proud of his new one, as well.

            Although given to temper tantrums and willful behavior in youth. He was probably very headstrong. Although Lunar Aquarians can be especially adept at understanding others’ behavior and motivations, they can lose touch with their own-simply because they have identified to strongly with what they aspire to be and these aspirations are often super-human. He wants to do everything, be everything, the best artist, writer, the next Batman, protector of the innocent, the whole lot. The Aquarian tendency to be humanitarian shows up powerfully in Moon in Aquarius. However, their kindness and concern for others is generally more a broad philosophy of life. He knows there’s a lot he can do and feels bad, but not bad enough to take action. Lunar Aquarians will tolerate and enjoy all kinds of idiosyncrasies in people around them. He would have room to talk if he did.

            Moon in Aquarius people are rarely flighty people, but they can be unreliable when it concerns the little things in life. I disagree, he’s very sure. Steady. In the long haul, however, they are rather constant. As long as they have their own space and the freedom to be themselves, however kooky that may be, they are trustworthy and loyal. I’ll just leave that there. Lunar Aquarians generally make wonderful friends. They’ll make a point of leaving nobody on the outside. Sweetie bedeezie. What may be surprising is that Moon in Aquarius people have a lot of pride. LEO! I’m telling you people. When their character or behavior has been criticized, they tend to dig in their heels and keep right on doing it. Or when they think they’re right.

            He is sociable, intelligent, and lucid. Thanks to great sociability, he has many friends. He is modern, original, inventive, non-conformist and brings new life to everything he does. This is a good description of Liam.

            He has a complex love life. He seems rather straight forward, in this area, actually.

  Moon in 3rd

                        Highly imaginative, but HAS DIFFICULTY IN CONCENTRATING. He moves around a lot and travels frequently. He can’t sit still. You are very responsive, communicative, and curious. Yes. You can have a talent for imitating others and/or for picking up languages. Vocal ability. You might either intellectualize your emotions rather than truly feel them and deal with them, or you communicate with excessive emotion. When overwhelmed, I can see both of these things. Some of you may do both at different times, and as you mature and develop, you learn to find a balance. You might find that sometimes you adopt others’ points of view and express their ideas as if they were your own. He’s one of those people who hear someone say a cool phrase or something and then starts saying it all the time. You might be quite nervous and restless, requiring frequent changes in scenery, even if the movement or travel takes place locally. Let’s drive to the grocery store in my three hundred thousand dollar car. It’ll be fun.

  154 Opposition Moon-Venus

              Because you value harmony, you may find yourself giving in to others to easily, especially in the first half of life. Resentment is possible, as you can feel that you are the one who seems to do all the acquiescing. If he hadn’t been so successful so early in life than this could definitely have been a possibility. There can be a distinct tendency to become friends and lovers with people too readily, simply because there is a strong need for approval and a hunger for receiving affection. A dog just wants its belly scratched, it doesn’t care who does it, but I don’t think Liam is a player, more a serial monogamist.

            As such, you may get involved with people who seem to really like you, and you fail to consider whether you actually like them back. Or if they are using you or not. Generally, one of your life’s lessons is to learn to discriminate more and to get in touch with what you truly want and need. I think he does this pretty well all ready. You may find yourself compromising your own emotional needs in order to find and keep love. Peace and harmony are important to you, perhaps too much so, as you can easily be taken advantage of. We haven’t seen evidence of this with Liam that we have with the others. Insecurity is something that you need to deal with at some point in your life. He knows that he looks good now, but he might still struggle every now and then which he shouldn’t because he’s lovely. You can also be quite sexually active and sometimes quite lustful. He would demand to be called Daddy, and I’m not even joking, but it would be like my favorite flavor of ice cream. Vanilla. You are capable of working hard, but you truly appreciate luxuriating and enjoying as many pleasures as possible, and self-discipline simply isn’t always at your disposal. A watch that costs more than your house for every occasion.

  49 Trine Moon-Mars

                        You are a passionate person who loves life. He’s so enthusiastic it’s brilliant. You are a sexual person who nevertheless doesn’t get too carried away or controlled by your passions. You need an emotional connection in order to feel complete on a physical level. Serial monogamist. You may have an affection and talent for sports. An affection certainly for playing sports, I think, getting a little dirty.

            He is full of vigor and ambition. He is strong and powerful. He is a little hard on himself, but, above all, on others whose capacity for action is not as great. He wants everyone to be as motivated and as excited and as hard working as he is.

4 Trine Moon-Jupiter

                        He is optimistic, and realisitically so, most of the time, which contributes to his overall “luck”. Very optimistic. The odds have been with him so far, so why not. He is able to offer support to others when needed. Or save their lives, whatever. Quick to find humor in situations, he is generally warm and fun to be around. Warm, noble, strong….. Deep down, he believes in the basic goodness of people and of life in general, and this basic and natural attitude helps him to attract positive circumstances and make good connections. He’s just a happy, energetic, and positive person. Even if you hate people like that or find them annoying Liam’s the exception. His hunches are more often than not bang-on. He seems very intuitive.

            His friendships are sincere. He seems like he has good friends and is a good judge of character. You could not talk to him in five years and he would still consider you a good friend if you once were, and treat you just the same. He is a worker and knows how to surround himself with the right people: He is appreciated at work. He’s super talented and nice. Exactly the kind of person that people want to work with.

  Mercury in Virgo

              He secretly feels that he handles matters better than others. Probably not so secretly.

  Mercury in 10th

              His home and comfort are the only things important for him. He likes to have a nice house. Have you see that mansion? All that marble? He’ll be renting it out to Lil Bow Wow the 9th in like 50 years as a location for his rap video. Liam will be cameoing in the background drinking moonshine out of one of those leg lamps from “A Christmas Story”, both way too happy and way too tan.

            You are good with language, and generally use this talent in your profession. Voice, talking to people. You can have an authoritative air about you, or you are talented at communicating and negotiating with those in authority. Liam is the only authority Louis William Tomlinson ever listened to or still listens to.

    Venus in Leo- Finally some Leo

            When Venus in Leo people are in love, they are proud, even boastful. Y’all remember those cringe worthy comments on Sophia’s Instagram that were posted right after their breakup. Variations of “Why are you so hot, sexy???” on every photo. The second hand embarrassment was real. Who takes a photo of their girl making a smoothie? He is extremely boastful and proud of who he’s with which is why he attracts really glam women who are normally in the industry like he is. They like him because of the constant validation. Dating Liam means you get told you’re beautiful, sexy, hot constantly. It means that you are complimented more than you have ever been in your whole life. I feel like his Venus Leo is one of the major aspects of his personality.

            This position of Venus can turn humble Virgos Suns into somewhat demanding lovers. Or into Leos masquerading as Virgos. Venus in Leo loves to court and be courted, and they need to feel very special. Expensive gifts galore, for friends and family too. He seems overly generous here. They are warm, generous, and even grand. Be prepared for their displays, they will tell you about any advances made on them. Remember, they’re just showing off to you, and it’s likely harmless. He would tell you that someone hit on him not to be like look I have other options, but to give himself brownie points with you. Look, babe, I did a good job. It would make sense in Liam’s mind. It’s a different story if you do the same, however. That’s why you’ll hear the lion roar…. And, no doubt, you’ll want to keep these cats purring. And purring does occur, no doubt in my mind.

            Experienced in love, even if they have little or no experience whatsoever. No worries here. Venus in Leo people have high expectations, but once you know that these expectations revolve only around how much attention you are giving them, you’ll see that they are really quite big-hearted about most everything else. Big-hearted is definitely a descriptor I would use for Liam.

            Although their needs for physical expression through sex are generally quite strong, their need for love is perhaps even stronger. He wants affection more than anything, to be coddled and praised. It is hard for Venus in Leo people to separate love and sex, and even their most erotic fantasies are infused with love and affection. For this reason, few Venus in Leo folk would last long in a relationship that is mostly sexual. On the flip side, they may last longer in a love-only relationship in the absence of satisfying sex, but they are unlikely to feel very satisfied. Most of his relationships probably started out with sex or infatuation and Liam’s romantic brain supplied the compatibility and love even if there wasn’t a lot there to start with.

            Pleasing Venus in Leo involves paying loans of attention to them. He deserves this really. If you’re willing to make only one adjustment in your ways, it should be to remind Leo how wonderful they are. Respect and appreciate them always. That should go for every aspect or sign or whatever. Put up with their childlike moments and their tall tales. And I’m sure there are plenty of them. They actually lose interest when they perceive the slightest loss of interest in their partner. Maybe this is where the insecurity in some of his placements makes itself known????

            Remember, to Venus in Leo, your small jealousies are affirmations that you find them attractive and expect the rest of the world to as well. I can see this with him, then he’d automatically be uncomfortable that someone else was flirting with him because he really likes belonging to someone and that’s sweet. Let them decide where to go on a date, and let them pay too. He’d probably insist. When Venus in Leo feels loved and appreciated, they reward you with loyalty, a big sense of fun, and plenty of physical expressions of their love. How he is with his family and friends and significant other would be my guess.

            Sincere, frank, and warm affections. If he likes you, you’ll know it. High hopes in love. I had this friend growing up where every time she got a new relationship she’s swear that this one was the one. She’d say, now I know I’ve said this before, but I’ve never, never felt like this before. I love him, blah, blah, blah…. I think Liam is the same way.

            Very proud in love, and warm-hearted and generous with loved ones. Like everything else in his chart, this is a repeat.

  Venus in 9th

                        Refined mind, he likes the Arts. Very musical. How many instruments did he play for M.I.T.A.M? He is carried away by beautiful things. Beautiful, expensive people and things.

            You are not especially clingy, and you expect a certain amount of freedom within a partnership. This sounds wrong to. He just seems like he’d be super clingy, super touchy feely all the time. You want to feel like you are growing as an individual, and you won’t be happy in a relationship that is restrictive or confining. Okay. Beware of a tendency for dissatisfaction with what you have, as the tendency to think that the “grass is greener” elsewhere can keep you from enjoying or developing what you have. This maybe the cause of his past break-ups, this lack of contentment when things get too easy. He likes adventure and excitement. He likes drama, the little divo.

            Mars in Libra

              Decisiveness is not their strong point, but they do, eventually, get things done. He likes to weigh his options before finally making a decision. Many people with this position procrastinate, generally because they feel the need to weigh all of the alternatives before taking action. Not what are we going to next, Liam. He’s already done that thing and is on to the next thing.

            Life isn’t always fair, but Mars in Libra will seldom accept this notion. His hero instincts would try to make it fair no matter what.

            Passive-agressiveness is practically the hallmark of this position. Stomping mad, or just angry growling to show his discontent. They know how to compromise and are excellent at conflict management. He seems like he’d be a good mediator.

  Mars in 11th

                        He achieves his ambitions. He’s very headstrong, very hardworking.

  189 Conjunction Mars-Jupiter

              He is jovial, frank, and sincere. More descriptors. He is full of dynamism and over abundant energy. He loves life and takes all it has to offer. He likes sports and the outdoor life. He is successful professionally and emotionally. He usually has lots of children. Liam’s new reality show, “Daddy Direction” Liam and his eighteen children and their crazy lives. Yeah, I’d watch the heck out of that in like twenty years. Then he go on Dancing with the Stars and Louis can do a cameo booty shake and my life will be complete.

            He is honest and forthright in his dealings with others, and he tends to trust others readily. But that hasn’t got him in trouble yet, thank goodness. He can be a bit careless about spending money, however, and this is probably because he is so eternally optimistic that there will always be plenty around. The possibility of failure does not enter his mind, although success itself is not that important to him. He will be the first one to blow through all their money hence the reality show. One can only hope, at least.

  Jupiter in Libra

              He values people and relationships and might succeed best in partnership. Lilo writing team. I really think he should go into producing and writing, for sure.

  Jupiter in 11th

              He is cooperative, organizes everyone. 3,2,1 Hi, We’re One Direction. He achieves his objectives. No matter what.

  28 Square Jupiter-Uranus

              His extravagance is shocking. Ohhh……

  23 Square Jupiter-Neptune

              He is easily influenced. He is a dreamer, who lets himself be seduced by fine words, which are not always sincere. He does not see wickedness and is often fooled by people. He’s honest and expects others to be as well.

  Saturn in Aquarius in 3rd

              His studies will be restricted. He just the basics in school, no university. He has few friends, who are, however, very close. This is pretty clear.

  51 Square Saturn-Pluto

              He is an egoist. At his worst maybe.

  Uranus in Capricorn in 2nd

                        He has a lot of flair. If anyone asks me in the future to describe Liam Payne I’m going to say this. He must have an out-of-the-ordinary job, in which case all goes well. He does. Otherwise, he will often change jobs and will have financial problems. In another life, this would probably be the case.

  22 Sextile Uranus- Ascendant

              He is ready to innovate, to change everything. He is inventive. Let’s hear it then, can’t wait for the album.

  Neptune in Capricorn

              He is discerning, wise and sensible. Yup.

  Neptune in 2nd

                        He might make money through artistic pursuits. Natal chart or crystal ball? Financial advice is important to obtain. This is a common theme in his chart, I hope it’s unwarranted.

  14 Conjunction Pluto-Ascendant

              He has will power and ambition, and likes to have his own way.

  Ascendant in Scorpio

              Scoprio Ascendant people have a lot of presence. There is something about them that tells the world that they are not to be pushed around. But they always seem powerful and determined. He does seen very determined, always has. Scorpio rising natives are drawn to down-to-Earth, natural partners. His chart is so not reliable. This isn’t how I would describe Liam at all, nor the type of people that he tends to go for.

  House 2 in Sagittarius

              He may have a laissez-faire attitude towards money. Money again, he needs to leave it in the bank, it’s a sign.

  House 3 in Capricorn

              He is introverted. No, definitely not. He doesn’t speak about his plans until they are underway. Nope, not this either, we all remember that little teaser video in the black hoodie. He is silly.

  House 5 in Aries

              Full of initiative. Things are done to the full, with energy, vigor and strength of purpose. Yup. Yup. Children will be hardy and rarely ill. Good.

  House 6 in Aries

              Ability to command, knows how to take up his responsibilities at work. This again.

  House 7 in Taurus

              Marries for love, but also well financially. A peaceful union even if exchange of ideas isn’t always smooth.

  House 8 in Gemini

              He is a writer. Writer. Performer. Take care of the lungs, if a smoker than it is advisable to stop. I think I watched something the other day where he said he had stopped smoking. Congrats, Liam.

  A/N: This is just an interpretation of Liam's chart. I got everything from Café Astrology so credit to them again. I am not an astrologer and I in no way shape or form own Liam Payne or unfortunately One Direction. I am not an astrologer just a fan with to much time on her hands in before school starts back up.

#Liam Payne #Liam Payne Natal Chart #Liam Payne Astrology #Astrology #natal chart #Strip that down #Louis Tomlinson #Harry Styles #Niall Horan #One Direction #Virgo #Scorpio #leo #Venus in Leo

[comicsbeat]

Writeris known for some controversial runs on some top books, mixing a lot of inside knowledge on character history with some alarming mayhem. He’s just picked up one of the plum roles in all of comics: writing the Harley Quinn ongoing title.  With artist Inaki Miranda on board (and some help from Mirka Andolfo, colors by Jeremiah Skipper and covers by the one and only Amanda Conner), Harley is as unfettered as ever, but a bunch of Gotham’s best known villains are standing by to give her evern more to worry about

Tieri’s also the writer on the Jughead: The Hunger ongoing from Archie, another title that turns things you think you know into a topsy turvy bloodbath.

We thought it was high time to discuss Harley and Jughead with Tieri, who reveals his plans for both titles and maybe a little insider New York knowledge..along with some prodigious hunger of his own.

THE BEAT:  I know you are good friends with Jimmy and Amanda, but you have some big platform boots to fill taking over after their iconic run on the character. (I know the word iconic is overused but it really was!) Were you at all trepidatious when you agreed to take over the book?

FRANK TIERI:  Well…Yes and no, I guess.

For one thing, I absolutely agree, while people throw around the word iconic, to me there’s no doubt about it that Jimmy and Amanda deserve their run to be called that. There may be multiple reasons why Harley is as popular as she is these days but I think it’s undeniable that they are definitely one of them.

So yeah, you do take that into account a bit when you do a book like this. You realize you have big shoes to fill. But at the same time, it’s what you work for in this industry, for gigs like this. I’ve been lucky enough throughout my career to have had runs on big books—WOLVERINE, IRON MAN, DEADPOOL, etc—so I know what comes with the territory… and hey, I welcome the challenge. All I think you can do is be yourself in these instances so don’t expect me to be aping Jimmy and Amanda—some things I do similar to what they do, some things I do different. By now at this point in my career I think fans know what I bring to the table—some humor, some violence, a lot of villain stuff, etc—and they can expect me to bring all that to my HARLEY QUINN run as well. Should be fun.

THE BEAT: J&A’s run on the book ended with the death of her friend, Mason. What’s her mind set right now? She didn’t seem quite herself when your first issue (HARLEY QUINN #35) hit last week

TIERI: She’s still reeling from Mason’s death, to be honest. It’s hit her hard and she fears that anyone around her may be in danger and she doesn’t want that. She doesn’t want that pain of losing someone again so instead, she pushes her friends away.

The problem is, of course, when you have friends like the Gang of Harleys and Red Tool and all the rest… well, they’re not exactly the listening sort, as we saw in the first iss. They’re concerned so, whether she approves or not, they’re going to keep tabs on her. (Or “Stalking” her, as Harley put it. )

So when Tony goes missing, kidnapped by a Man-Bat thing,  Harley wants to “Scooby-Doo” the mystery herself. But despite the Gang sending Red Tool after her, Harley only ends up getting taken herself.

THE BEAT: And this all leads to Harley getting changed into a bat…

TIERI: Well, we figured DC didn’t have enough versions of Harley for action figures, statues, home pregnancy tests, etc. So now you’ve got Bat-Harley to play with, kids! You’re welcome.

Anyway, yes, Harley was turned into a bat creature by Francine Langstrom last issue. Now the Gang and Red Tool have to stop the two She-bats from wrecking havoc on Coney. And, ya know… eventually turning Harley back from a giant flying rat would be nice, too

THE BEAT: I’ve also heard that you’ll be making the book a little bit more involved with the DCU, including an appearance by some other Batman villains… as you did with Man-Bat in issue 35. What can you tell us about that?

TIERI: Man-Bat and “Batter Up” is just the start, really. This arc leads directly into “Angry Bird” which basically sees Penguin declare war on Harley and all of NYC after he discovers Harley tricked him and cost him the casino he was planning in Coney (As seen in my fill in issue, HARLEY QUINN #27. See everything ties together, folks! There’s a possibility I know what I’m doing after all…).

Penguin brings a huge chunk of Batman’s Rogues Gallery with him—which for my money is the greatest Rogues Gallery in all of comics, by the way. And I’m not exaggerating when I say huge chunk—everyone from heavy hitters like Mr Freeze and Killer Croc to guys like Condiment King and Egghead… and everyone in between. It’ll be mass chaos and Coney will be worse the wear as all these villains descend on it, looking for a piece of it, even fighting amongst themselves. Needless to say, Harley will have her work cut out for her.

THE BEAT: You mention Coney…Her Brooklyn setting was a big part of the last run, will it continue to be?

TIERI: Coney will still be the focal point, yes, with a lot of jostling between the villains there and with the Gang and the rest of the supporting cast still there… but we will be branching out a bit. Harley will find herself fighting street gangs in Hell’s Kitchen, Mr Zsasaz in Yankee Stadium, the Gorilla Gang in the Empire State building… really every part of NYC.

(Living here in New York and knowing what locales would make for interesting and fun fight venues helps with a storyline like this, let me tell ya.)

THE BEAT: You’re also reuniting with your CATWOMAN artist Inaki Miranda, who I’ve admired for a long time. What are his qualities as an artist that he’ll bring to drawing Harley?

TIERI: Both Inaki and I were excited to be paired up again since we worked together so well on CATWOMAN. And, like with CATWOMAN, Inaki is really capable of handling anything I throw at him… whether it’s humorous stuff with the Gang of Harleys and Condiment King or more serious, darker stuff with Man Bat and Killer Croc.  And by the way, the guy draws a ridiculously awesome Penguin. Really could be my favorite version of the character.

And also joining us on “Angry Bird” will be the very talented Mirka Andolfo. She designed a new outfit for Harley for this arc that I just love and she’s also totally killing it.

Really, I got very lucky with the artists I’m getting to work with on this, I have to say.

THE BEAT: You had written Harley before in Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys and then in a Harley fill in before taking over. Do you have any thoughts on what has made her such a hugely popular character? 

TIERI: I think there’s certain characters that just hit at the right time, for whatever reason. I think Deadpool is a character like that. And I think Harley is another. Both of them seem to me to have taken off at around the same time and I think the cosplay community plays a big role with both. Go to any convention around the country and I would say those are the top two that are cosplayed. The cons are literally swarming with them.

But with Harley in particular, I think the feminist angle also comes into play. Here’s a character that was under the thumb of arguably the greatest villain of all time—the Joker—and she broke free and now she’s doing her own thing. That’s very powerful and you can see why female comic book fans in particular would gravitate to that.

And also, lastly… I just think people like fart and dick jokes. So there’s that.

THE BEAT: You said I could ask some Jughead questions, so I’m going to sneak in a couple! You’re writing the Jughead: The Hunger ongoing in which a lycanthropic Jughead terrorizes the countryside. This launched with a one shot last year, I believe. Did you think the idea would be this popular?

TIERI: We suspected it might hit—the reason I pitched an Archie Horror comic in the first place was because the line was popular—but I don’t think any of us thought it would hit like it did. When we saw cast members from the Riverdale show tweeting about it and then it getting referenced on the Big Bang Theory, then we knew we really had something here.

THE BEAT: Seriously, Werewolf Jughead. What’s your basic approach to morphing America’s harmless teenagers into blood soaked monsters? 

TIERI: Well, my initial thought was simple really–what if there was more to Jughead’s hunger than just a big appetite ? What if there was something deeper behind it… and that led to the whole werewolf concept and him munching down on the good people of Riverdale instead of hamburgers.

Add to that Betty, who was secretly a werewolf hunter who was charged with hunting down Jug and his family of werewolves, and we had ourselves a book, kids.

THE BEAT: Any hints as to where his rampage will take him?

TIERI: Jughead’s pretty much been on the run since our initial one shot, but in this week’s JUGHEAD: THE HUNGER #3, we finally get that JugWolf Vs Betty Cooper Werewolf Hunter rematch fans have been clamoring for. And it’s a doozy, let me tell ya.

Plus, we’ll get to meet the matriarch of Betty’s little werewolf hunter clan, Elena Cooper, who’ll play a big role down the line. And we’ll find up what Reggie—who was turned into a werewolf by Jug and is out for his blood—is up to, and more importantly and much more scary, WHO he’s been up to it with. Suffice to say, ain’t none of this is good for good ol’ Jug.

THE BEAT: Speaking of hunger, are you ever going to eat another giant matzoh ball?

TIERI: Ha! As a matter of fact, I did.

For those of you who don’t know what the hell we’re talking about, Heidi and I were at a con in Jersey and a bunch of us went to dinner at this deli called Harold’s where they had giant EVERYTHING. So anyway, I ended up eating a matzoh ball that was the size of a small child.

Flash forward a few months and my son’s got a karate tournament around there and yes, I ended up eating another kaiju matzoh ball with my kid. My wife thinks I’m a disgusting human being now but eh, that’s not exactly anything new.

Jughead: The Hunger #3 goes on sales this Wednesday, and Harley Quinn #35 is on sale now.

  INTERVIEW: Frank Tieri on turning Harley Quinn into a bat and Jughead into a werewolf Writeris known for some controversial runs on some top books, mixing a lot of inside knowledge on character history with some alarming mayhem.

#archie horror #Frank Tieri #Harley Quinn #inaki miranda #jeremiah skipper #jugehead the hunger

[tessatechaitea]

Justice League #15

Well, it's got to end sometime, I suppose.

Okay, maybe she's not a time traveler. But she definitely knows what's going on in the future. So she's some kind of time something or other. Probably a Time Witch.

• Superman and Batman learn from the Infinity Corporation that something is rewriting time. You know, the way that sometimes happens. Usually it only happens when an idiot believes a thing they think they remember even when the proof that they're remembering it wrong is right in front of them, like that book with the incestuous bear family and that movie with the African-American Djinni. But in the DC Universe, when something changes in the past, things are rewritten slowly enough that people with a time traveling office building can pick up some hitchhikers and try to set history right once more. Although what is right, really? If the Infinity Corporation hadn't picked up Superman and Batman, they'd be fine! It would just be slightly different versions of them in the new reality. Which might be the better reality. Or maybe the real reality! If time can be changed so easily, whose to say this change wasn't setting it back to the factory settings?

This is how philosophy can be misused by idiots. He's got the whole concept backwards. It's not "The future is malleable so the past must be too!" Because that's fucking nonsense. It's "If the past is immutable, why would you think the future was? Boom! Free will is an illusion!" It's so obvious. Once you make a choice and the present becomes the past, it can't be changed. So why would you think you ever had a real choice anyway? Fate, motherfuckers!

• Also, the guy's ability to philosophize is terrible if he's saying things like "You think somebody ten years in the future reading about you fixes your choices?" Of course that doesn't work! Because the future isn't happening simultaneously with the present, dum-dum! I mean, I suppose it could be. Without our ability to observe it, all history would just happen in the blink of an eye. Our observation slows it down. So why can't it all have happened spontaneously and immediately. That's why some beings are omniscient, like dolphins and gerbils. • During the United Nations fight, Cyborg winds up in 31st century Metropolis beside Brainiac 5. I guess they're all surprised by this happening because The Flash quickly distributed all of the bracelets which kept them from being obliterated by the Timeless. • The Green Lanterns wind up in the 26th Century where Washington, DC, has been devastated. It's probably been that way for five hundred years now. • The Flash winds up in Central City on the day he received his powers. Apparently they've all time traveled to different points in time where the Timeless have set up "temporal nukes." See? It's easy to get your heroes on the mission when you have somebody from the future saying, "This is what is happening and here is the problem and now off you go to solve it!" • Molly the Keeper explains that if these bombs go off, the fans will be super fucking pissed again. A whole new DC Universe! This time it won't be Wally and Steph and Cassie who disappear forever. This time, it'll be all the superheroes. Which would make for a really boring DC Universe. I'm not sure even I would keep reading any comic books telling stories from it.

I wish every time somebody said this in a time travel movie, they'd get punched in their stupid face.

• From this moment on, whenever anybody asks me, "Where are we?" or "Where am I?", I'm going to reply, "When might be a better question!" • Batman and Superman wind up in a time when Earth has built a bunch of scaffolding around the planet. Hopefully somebody will tell them that they have a temporal nuke to disarm. The Ranking! No change! If I wasn't being so lazy and not wanting to change the sidebar, I'd probably drop this a ranking just for being another terrible "The present is changing because of time travel shenanigans that must be corrected!" bullshit story. I mean, isn't it lucky that Molly the Keeper appeared to help everybody save the current timeline! Without her intervention, time would have just changed and nobody would have been the wiser. Readers probably would have been confused though if they picked up What's the Justice League? #15 about a bunch of people who don't remember the Justice League and never mention them at all in whatever boring tale of mundane life Bryan Hitch decided to tell. Probably a story about an artist who is trying to finish the facade of a building with a ton of tiny details on it but he has to pee really fucking badly. Does he finish before he goes? Does he go before he finishes? Does he make a huge mistake in one of several possible scenarios?!

#Justice League #Batman #Superman #Bryan Hitch #Fernando Pasarin #Matt Ryan #Brad Anderson